Fandom Star Wars

Lucyfer · Apr 14, 2016

The dark-haired knight let out a relieved sigh when Paquin commented about the scar medicine. “Thank you.” Though they were going to be in a predicament here soon. ‘This is all because of you, Kevan.’ If he had not gotten captured, if Mira hadn’t…. 

Well, her ship was gone at least. 

“The ship was taking up useless space,” Kylo muttered as he heard Paquin’s commentary on his decision. He could see Phasma waiting out there, not fleeing, not looking even peeved. ‘Does she get scared under that armor?’ Sometimes, Kylo wondered. 

Much as he wondered who the strange man standing besides her was. He was in quite the garb, the uniform and the markings on it implied that Kylo Ren should know who he was, but he truly had no idea. ‘Perhaps Snoke has already replaced Hux.’ Somehow, Kylo did not think that was true. 

He glanced at Paquin for recognition, but he didn’t see it in her face before he threw on his helmet, and then threw up his hood. First impressions. He’d not have this stranger meet him in any other way. The black also covered the wounds and cut through the material, though not well. The fabric was still frayed, which Kylo only started to become self-conscious about when he noted how immaculate both Phasma and the Officer looked. 

“Phasma, is there any news?” Kylo spoke in a demanding tone. 

“Yes, Commander. General Hux's ship was found on Hoth, but he was not present, nor was Mira Ren,” she answered, utilizing that title before looking to the guest at her side, “Sir, this is Kylo Ren, commander of the Knights of Ren. With him is Paquin, a new recruit to the Knight of Ren.” 

“And who is this?” Kylo asked, quite annoyed that Phasma didn’t introduce this man to him first. 

~***~ 

The gears in Hux’s head were turning, Mira could see it as they walked, but said nothing. It was good that he was finally thinking, but she didn’t want to say that aloud lest she turn him away from those thoughts. At his comment of ideas, she just smirked. ‘I’m the clever one for a reason.’ 

She would live far longer than Kevan once she was away from the General. Kylo Ren would have a hard time tracking her. She’d make sure of that. The two of them could be on the same planet and he wouldn’t find her—though she would know where he was. 

With a wave, Mira opened the doors to the temple and walked through the archway. “Both,” she answered him. “I’ve never truly been a fan of the Jedi Order,” she confessed. Her parents had been, until they realized what it was to have someone with the Force in their household, “But their ideals…peace, control, unity,” it sounded far more like the First Order than the chaos of the Knights. 

It always amused her how the Sith were painted villains for craving freedom, and the Jedi as heroes for desiring control. Yet, the Republic were the heroes for wanting freedom, and the Galactic Empire--now the First Order--the villains. “I’ve always been a fan of those ideals. Even when I was young, I could feel that peace, here. Perhaps it is just because everything is dead, and most are too paranoid to disturb this location.” 

Her parents had fussed. The structure was fragile. The Emperor might have left traps. 

Coruscant itself had a queer reverence for it, leaving it be rather than rebuilding it or destroying it. 

Broken statues of Jedis past littered the floor, and Mira took a seat upon the fallen back of one, as irreverent as a Sith for the holiness of this location—or a cat. She was much more relaxed in this building. “Or perhaps there’s a ghost.” Another story. “Either way, it’s time for you to decide, now that I’ve made it to the Temple. Do you wish to walk out of here with mind intact, or shall I erase things that could get you in trouble with Snoke?”

KyloGlenn · Apr 14, 2016

Paquin felt a swell of pride when she was introduced as a Knight of Ren, even if it was just as a new recruit. She felt as though she’d earned it. That feeling of pride disappeared when the man spoke his name, being replaced by embarrassment. She’d forgotten basic etiquette. 

“Commandant Brendol Hux,” he introduced himself, making no move to shake hands with Kylo or anything. His hands simply remained behind his back. 

The Commandant looked surprisingly like Hux up close. Gray hair had remnants of red in it, eyes the same blue. They were even similar in height. The only differences being that Commandant Hux was much older and thicker than the General. 

Paquin’s back straightened, her head bowing ever so slightly. She’d never met him, but she’d certainly heard of him. He created the current Stormtrooper training regimen, the idea to train them from birth. She’d also heard that he was not nice. “Commandant,” she greeted, only to earn a twitch of the lip, into a brief smirk. 

His attention quickly shifted back to Kylo, “Commander,” he spat the title. Like father like son, apparently. “I thought I should be included in the situation with General Hux. Phasma agreed.” If he held any pride for his son, he was not showing it. 

Paquin almost wanted to ask what the point was, what Brendol could do to aid them, but she kept her mouth shut. It seemed as though the Commandant read her mind as he spoke, “I have a clue where the General may be.” 

- 

Hux was questioning why Mira ever became a Knight. The group was the exact opposite of what she believed in. They were the exact opposite of the Order as well, he wondered why Snoke involved them. Well, he only involved Kylo originally. Then the rest followed after Ren failed. 

He wondered why Snoke even had the Knights. The Supreme Leader claimed to want peace and control, yet he had a band so contradictory. It made him question Snoke’s real intentions. 

Still, terrible match. Hux would do all he could to ensure they wouldn’t be the downfall of the First Order. 

“Soon peace, order, unity will return to the galaxy,” one way or another. “Not the same as the dead, silent peace here. But nonetheless…” He trailed off as he let his eyes wander around the remains. He was curious about what the temple looked like when it was up and running. It must’ve been brighter, nowhere near as dreary as the ruins were now. 

He snorted at the idea of a ghost, but he couldn’t really discount it. Not with the Force existing. His gaze returned to her as she reminded him of the decision he had to make. 

A lot of things were running through the General’s mind and he felt as though he needed some of those thoughts. Would he be able to keep them if she altered his memories? Probably not. Unless she left them there. Would she? She was the one to inspire them after all. 

With these new thoughts, Hux found that he wasn’t as worried about getting in trouble with Snoke. He’d try his damnedest to convince Snoke of what'd happened. She drugged him, used the Force on him, whatever. He’d solidify it on the way there, but if that were to fail it would be so easy to disband from Snoke. Hux would do whatever he had to do to keep the Order the way it needed to be. 

“I think I’ll take my chances,” Hux was a good liar. This would be a test of how good he was. “Thank you for the option, Mira. But to restore the galaxy to its rightful state, I think I need to remember all that’s happened here.” Or maybe he didn’t, maybe this was a mistake. No matter. He was going to stick with his choice.

Lucyfer · Apr 14, 2016

Commandant Brendol Hux. Kylo Ren had heard enough to hate him when he heard the name, and the mask covered it quite well, though his posture took on an air of cockiness he usually reserved for enemies. He wasn’t even that cocky around the General himself. “Commandant,” Kylo returned the spat title. 

His ideas had failed, not only in the Troopers, but in the General. ‘Phasma is not a part of the triumvirate. If—’ Before Kylo Ren could form the words, the Commandant revealed he knew something about the General. 

“Then by all means, Commandant, spit it out: where is your precious son?” 

“Is this how you do business, in the public eye?” There was a sneer on his face that Kylo wanted to punch off. “This is not a matter for the…inferiors.” His eyes raked over both Phasma and Paquin. 

Kylo was almost positive he felt a spike of anger from Phasma, but all she said was, “Sir,” and then looked to Paquin, “We need to return your items to the armory as it is. Come,” Phasma knew better than to stand in the way or argue for a place. Though Commandant Hux was not exactly a part of the chain of command, he was also not removed from it. Rather, his position was akin to Kylo Ren’s own—a position of power that was not to be questioned. 

Even Kylo knew it. “Fine, we’ll do it your way, since your way has gone so well so far,” the derision was apparent. With a wide gesture, Kylo suggested that Brendol follow—the Knight of Ren certainly would not. 

~***~ ‘And will I live to see it?’ That was the true question, but Mira wanted to believe Hux—it was why he lived, why she even let him get so far. 

“Then you won’t go back empty handed,” Mira said, taking the second of her three holocrons and holding it aloft, “Try to open it on your own. I’ve always wondered…they say the Force is in everything, and in everyone. Life itself. It should be possible,” a theory, one she couldn’t test herself—she was Force sensitive. It was a question of whether non-Force sensitives could find a way to use it. 

To become Force sensitive. 

If the Force created life…certainly…somehow. 

Mira would toss the holocron while saying, as if commenting on the weather, “All I did, General, was trade Captain Rollo Henderson for Knight Kevan Ren. I betrayed no secrets, although I have likely caused them to abandon a base they had at Naboo. I took Kevan to Tatooine, and left him there. That is the extent of my treachery. You should know, since I am certain the orders from Snoke will soon be to kill me,” a dangerous smile played upon her lip, “But if you ever need me, it’s Vallens now. If I hear that, I’ll find you.” For only Hux would know to use it, so long as he could keep Snoke out. Mira was hoping the holocron and the details of her treachery were enough to show his faith. He could have stolen it from her in a scuffle. He could have gotten information through his own methods of torment. 

Whatever story he needed, he could spin it. If it kept Snoke out of his head, made Snoke believe him, then it was enough.

KyloGlenn · Apr 14, 2016

'No one likes each other. Good.' 

Paquin knew her place, she didn't argue when she was dismissed. "You know where to find me," she mumbled to Kylo, in case they needed to journey out for another mission. She again bowed her head at the Commandant as she passed him, following after Mira. 

"At least they seem to have a sense of respect since you seem to lack it," Brendol hissed. It was obvious that Kylo's comment angered him. As far as he was concerned, the traitor was not his fault. His son was more involved in their training than he was, even if he was the mastermind behind it. 

Brendol did not follow after Kylo, rather matched the Knight's pace. He knew all sorts of power plays and was not going to let this child assert dominance over him. 

The older Hux didn't speak on the subject of his son until they were well and good away from underlings. He figured they were near enough to a room they could speak in private. "The General was believed to be spotted on Coruscant not long ago." He wouldn't mention how willing his son appeared. 

It wasn't for wanting to protect his son that he left out that detail, but more to protect his name. He didn't want the Hux name to be tainted, especially if it would end with his son. No one to redeem it after him. He would have a talk with his son later, assuming he'd make it back alive. 

- 

"It would be easier for me to build a machine than try and open it the way you're suggesting." He caught it anyway. As ridiculous as she sounded, he'd still try it in his own time. 

As he listened to what she'd did, surprised she even divulged that information, it didn't seem as bad as what everyone was probably thinking. Kevan no longer posed an issue, he was dead according to Mira. The Resistance abandoned a base, which wasn't bad news for the Order. The only issue was that she released a prisoner who knew where their starship base was. 

It wouldn't have been that hard to find anyway. 

She could have been lying, of course, but he had a feeling she wasn't. At the very least, she provided something he could say to Snoke. As well as show. 

"As long as that remains the extent of your treachery, I'll do my best to avoid your death." It was the least he could do. Had he ever repaid her for saving both of their skins during that assassination attempt? If not, she could consider it thanks for not killing him. Or simply because they were friends. "Kylo and Snoke I can't control, though." If Kylo found her, there'd be nothing he could do. 

"Maybe when the First Order gains control of the galaxy, I'll find you. If we're both still alive, that is." Either one of them could die so easily. "But for now, I believe it's goodbye, Vallens." A small grin tugged at his lip as he said the name. 

He held his hand out for her to shake. That's how friends said goodbye, right? "I wish you the best, Mira."

Lucyfer · Apr 15, 2016

Phasma walked at an even pace. Her voice came out smoothly as she inquired, “The mission was a success. Was it difficult, Paquin?” 

She was asking many questions in one; had it been difficult to kill? Was the fighting difficult? The armor? 

If Paquin were to be a Knight of Ren now, Phasma knew there would be much to learn, and it seemed the Knights were floundering. Paquin had once been First Order, and the Captain felt a sense of loyalty to the medic who had assisted in saving the lives of so many of her own soldiers. The very least she could do was provide the knowledge she had of combat, and offer any training, as well. 

Vibrosabers and vibroweapons were standard for some of her soldiers, after all. Nines had stood against Finn with one, only to be devastated by a bowcaster—but no matter. Paquin would fare better. 

The pair would move through another hangar on the way to the armory, as another black ship was landing. 

Gnaeus Ren had arrived. 

~***~ 

Kylo felt the arrival of Gnaeus, a mangled mesh of emotions that seemed more confused than anything. Were he able, he would have left the Commandant to greet the Knight, to remind the man of how insignificant he was to all of this. However, he did not. He needed the information of Hux. ‘Damn the both of you.’ 

The gingers were a pain in his side, but Brendol more than the son, and he’d only known him a minute. He could already sense the challenge in every breath. 

He directed them towards the General’s own chambers, and opened the door without a care for both of them to enter. “Mira wouldn’t go near Coruscant, she'd sooner die,” Kylo said, and realized that he was immediately assuming she'd taken power over the situation. He also realized she’d follow that logic. Of course she’d go to Coruscant. Even so, he stuck to his guns, “What evidence do you have of your son being there? Hearsay of some ginger kid there?” He spoke as if all gingers looked alike. 

Ariel would be upset with that. 

She’d never need to find out. 

“Photographic evidence,” Brendol responded, and walked to his son’s own computers to place a small device into it. He brought up only one image, and one that made the situation not appear damning for his own reputation, one where the General looked appropriately peeved, and without Mira in it. 

It did look like Coruscant. Kylo frowned. “He was supposed to go to Snoke, not play on Coruscant with the politicians.” It didn't appear that he was in anyone's control, either, or under threat. "I thought he and Mira were too close," Kylo let it slip, if only to upset Brendol with the thought his son was a traitor. "The Supreme Leader should have never allowed him to escort her alone." 

~***~ ‘It isn’t you I’m worried about. Or even the Order.’ Still, Mira accepted his words with a nod. There would be nothing Hux could do to prevent her death. That was something she had to do, and she intended to do a much better job than Kevan had. ‘How did you mess up so soon? So early? And why…?’ 

Answers she would never get. Had they been there, in her ship? In his request? 

Mira wasn’t going to be foolish enough to make requests like that, though. She wouldn’t be fool enough to believe that Hux’s decisions could save her. 

He used Vallens, though, and she rose from the statue then, slipping off of it to approach close enough to take his hand in hers. It would have been a sterile farewell from anyone else, a mere handshake, but this seemed different. It didn’t feel like a goodbye, either, not with the new name in place. Not with gloves off, masks off. “And you, General. I wish you well in establishing the Order everywhere.” ‘And good luck with not getting killed.’ Kevan’s last words to her. 

Mira wouldn’t condemn them that way, as she squeezed his hand before releasing it. “Thank you.” It summed it up. It was not goodbye, nor a lie of ‘see you soon’. It covered it all for the present.

KyloGlenn · Apr 15, 2016

"It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be." It likely wasn't the answer Phasma was looking for, but it summed up her experience. "The weapons and armor you provided worked well, thank you." She added. 

Paquin liked Phasma. She was intimidating, but always courteous. "Kylo and I briefly spoke about training with the vibroblade," she remembered. "I was wondering if you could assist with that, as long as it didn't inconvenience you?" If there was anyone to ask, it would be Captain Phasma. 

As she questioned, her gaze was drawn to a black ship. She knew who was inside of it, even if the exterior was mysterious. Paquin knew he had to have been confused, Kylo didn't offer much of an explanation. But surely a stranger explaining what happened wouldn't ease any confusion... 

But someone had to greet him. 

"Would you mind if we...?" She questioned, gesturing over to the landing ship. 

- 

"We know nothing of why my son's on Coruscant, but he wouldn't let some friendship," the word was spat through clenched teeth. He had to have taught his son better. Apparently not, "with a girl get in the way of his orders." Brendol defended, even if that seemed to be exactly what happened. "Something must have come up, otherwise, he'd be with the Supreme Leader." 

"She must've gotten the best of him, with the Force. If that weren't a factor, things would have gone seamlessly." He was already pushing the idea that Hux had been overpowered. It wasn't shameful, not when it was someone with the Force. Or at least, not as shameful as being a traitor. 

He pulled the device from the computer and returned it to his pocket. "I can provide the coordinates to where the photograph was taken. You now know all that I do," that wasn't true. "Do you need anything else, or are you going to organize for your General to be retrieved?" 

And hopefully that dreaded Knight--former Knight--wouldn't be anywhere near his son. 

The quicker the General returned, the less incriminating evidence against him there would be. As if there wasn't enough already. Then this would all blow over and everything would return to whatever they could call normal. The family name would not be damaged. 

- 

"Thank you." He echoed as his hand dropped back to his side. He offered nothing else. He was positive she knew where to reach him if she ever needed to, which he doubted. Mira could certainly take care of herself wherever it is she would go from there. What would she do? He may never know. 

He placed the holocron in the pocket of his ridiculous pants. He'd changed that outfit as soon as he could. He would have to figure out how to open that holocron. 'Use the Force. Or whatever.' He doubted that would work. He was not going to give it to Kylo, that's for sure. The child would probably just destroy it anyway. 

With their final words each being 'thank you', Hux turned and left out of the grand doors of the Jedi temple. From there he took an alternate route back to the docks, to avoid the police that had shown up at the scene Mira created. He found himself hoping that Mira would be alright with the death of Kevan. 

At the docks, he came across the Skiff they'd arrived in. He wouldn't take that. Mira needed it more than he did. He could easily walk over to the next ship and get a ride. And that's what he did. Well, sort of. They wouldn't give him a ride, but they let him reach out to the starship base. He alerted an officer of his location, better he tell them than them finding out via the news. 

Next step was actually getting off of Coruscant.

Lucyfer · Apr 15, 2016

Phasma was actually pleasantly surprised that it had not been difficult for Paquin. “You are welcome. It was the best I could provide on such short notice. If you anticipate that you will need armor and weapons from my supply again, I can try to acquire better of each, until Kylo Ren can outfit you appropriately as a knight.” 

There was a comment about the vibroblade, and Phasma nodded, “I myself can assist in your training, or there are others in the PS division who will be able. Let me know what times will be good, and I can schedule it. It will be no inconvenience.” 

She would have passed the ship, but it seemed Paquin wanted to stop. There was no hurry to the armory, and Phasma could understand how it might be useful to stop a confused knight from throwing a tantrum. She did not know Gnaeus well, but she knew it had to be that knight. He was the only one missing. 

So, Phasma walked them closer to the ramp that lowered, and they were near when the armored man walked out, helmet on. He saw Phasma, and approached, “Where is Kylo Ren?” 

“Occupied with Commandant Hux,” she answered. 

“Hux get demoted?” 

“It’s his father.” 

“Hux’s father is a lower rank?” Gnaeus canted his head, then shook it, “Never mind, when will he be free?” 

“I am not privy to that information, but if you would accompany us, we can make sure you are joined with Knight Ariel.” Phasma then gestured to Paquin, “I would also like to introduce you to Knight Paquin, formerly of the First Order medics.” 

Gnaeus stared at her through the helmet. Then, he let out a breathy curse that certainly was not in the common tongue, before he straightened up, “What in the Void happened here? Two of the oldest knights are traitors and we have a new one? Did Kylo finally snap or something?” He really was looking to either for answers. 

~***~ 

“I didn’t say it was just friendship,” Kylo Ren stated. It wasn’t the truth, no, but he’d never let Hux rest. Not when his spite towards Mira was so high, and certainly not when Hux likely was overpowered by her. 

At least his father had the proper respect for a Force sensitive, “You may be right, though. Mira was always good at the mind games,” he didn’t want to say she was better than him. Just good at them. They required a certain focus that she could manage to pull off. “What are the coordinates?” 

Brendol passed it over on a neatly written note, imagining Kylo Ren would forget it if he just told him the string of numbers. Kylo accepted it, then said, “I’ll go myself,” that was as much organization as Kylo Ren was going to do. 

“Alone?” 

“Unlike your son, I can handle Force sensitives,” Kylo jabbed, “and I’ve already bested Mira earlier. It’s a shame Hux couldn’t complete the job. Unless, you would like to come,” the offer was open, although Kylo Ren didn’t wait to allow him to answer. He turned and immediately walked for the exit to Hux’s room. 

He almost ran right into a hurrying, former Lieutenant-General. The man paused, backing up at the sight of Kylo. He noticed the Commandant behind him. “Sir,” he addressed both. “General Hux has reached out. We—” 

“I’m going to pick him up. He’s still on Coruscant?” 

“Yes, Sir.” 

“Good. Don’t warn him. We don’t need Mira warned.” With luck, she’d be near, or easy enough to find. 

~***~ 

Mira watched Hux leave, and let herself fall back against the statue. She shut her eyes with the pulse of pain at his departure. ‘Goodbye.’ Perhaps she should have said it, although she did not want it to be. 

She slipped down the statue, back leaning against the fallen figure, and for once she allowed the agony of leaving the First Order take over. Sorrow was not like anger. Sorrow was a push against herself. The Force seemed to bear down upon her, tried to crush her, or that was always how it felt—it never got that strong. 

And Mira allowed it without the frustrations of anger. Fear arose; she did not have a set path, just options, and none of them were certain. ‘After all, I….’ 

Her crimes danced through her head as she pulled her knees up to her chest. The padawans. Her parents. The ewoks. The countless others she’d killed for the Knights of Ren. There were too many to remember faces. ‘How can I be a Jedi now?’ 

Fear was the sputters of lightning and the outward push of the Force that seemed to keep her alive against the crushing sorrow. The sputters were harmless, crackling around her fingertips and vanishing. 

~***~ 

Finn had never been to a planet like Coruscant. He’d been to rebel base and desolate strip of land and villages, but never any place like Coruscant. He’d been in awe of the tall buildings and hovercrafts since Poe Dameron had landed, and so Poe had to occasionally grab him to pull him along, and make sure he didn’t get lost in the crowd. 

BB-8 tooled along behind them. 

It was through all of his admiration, though, that Finn caught sight of a familiar face, one that no amount of disguise could hide—not from a man paranoid and afraid. 

Finn immediately took hold of Poe’s arm and pulled him violently into the crowd to hide them. “Woah! What’s up, Finn?” Poe asked as he straightened up and kept walking. 

“You didn’t see him?” 

“See who?” 

Finn looked to the left, then the right, as Poe stared right at him, anticipating the answer. “General Hux,” he hissed the name out. 

“What?” Poe’s eyes widened with both fright and surprise, “General Hux is here?” He was pretty sure he would have recognized the uniformed man. He looked back around in the crowd, but Finn grabbed him again. 

“He’s in disguise!” 

“You don’t think he knows we’re here, do you?” Poe and Finn were running missions for Luke and Leia. Rey could not come with them, not while she was in training, so that left the pair of them to run a few missions. Poe was as good a diplomat as any, and Finn knew the workings of the First Order, so they were here for dual reasons: find anything Jedi related to help Rey, and speak to any Senators they could to ensure the destruction of the Hosnian system hadn’t shaken their resolve.

KyloGlenn · Apr 16, 2016

Paquin was introduced, and she wanted to correct Phasma for saying ‘formerly’. As far as she knew, she was still a medic. Kylo be damned, she was not giving up something she worked so hard for. But that rose the question whether she would even have the time for it with all that’s going on and what could go on in the future. 

Either way, she didn’t correct Phasma. 

Gnaeus breathed out something that Paquin didn’t understand, then voiced his confusion. “Well, I think it was more Kevan and Mira that snapped, not Kylo.” She commented. They, after all, were the ones that betrayed the Order and the Knights of Ren, not Kylo. Although, Kylo was probably on the verge of snapping as well. 

“Come, I’ll take you to Ariel. It might be easier to be around someone you’re familiar with. Though, she may be drugged up.” But that wasn’t much of a difference to being drunk, “That’s a different story. Anyway, I’ll explain on the way.” She gestured for the final Knight to follow her, then left towards the med bay. 

“Basically, what happened was Kevan was captured by the Resistance and aided them in an assassination attempt on Mira and Hux, giving away their location. Then Mira left and betrayed us somehow, I’m not entirely sure on what happened there. Hux took her to see Snoke to get information out of her. Now they’re missing.” Was she supposed to tell him that last bit? Well, didn’t matter now. 

“Then Kevan popped up with his mini army and we went and killed him,” she purposely left out who killed Kevan. She didn’t know what Gnaeus’ relationship with Kevan was, she didn’t want this Knight to hate her. It would come to light later, but hopefully they liked each other by that time. “Then you called Kylo and here we are.” 

- 

The Commandant was going to join the Knight to retrieve his son. If anything, it was to make sure Hux wasn’t going to be found in an incriminating position. One with Mira being involved. 

He heard Kylo tell the former Lieutenant General—what was he now?—not to warn Hux. Brendol didn’t agree with that. He waited for Kylo to walk ahead and out of earshot before he turned to the skittish whatever-he-is. “Warn him.” 

“But—“ 

“Tell the General to act surprised when we arrive, then no one finds out that you warned him.” No one finds out that Brendol told him to warn Hux. 

“I’m sorry, Commandant—“ 

“Do you want to keep a position in the First Order? Then do as I say.” And with that, he quickly followed after Kylo. Hopefully before the Knight realized he had lagged behind. 

It wasn’t like Kylo had made it far ahead, Brendol caught up easily. “I’m not trusting you with picking up my son, not with your beliefs of him and this Mira woman,” whether Kylo had simply said such things to bother the Commandant, or because he actually believed that Mira and Hux were more than just friends, Brendol didn’t know. 

On their way to the hangar, the fleeing forms of Phasma, Paquin, and someone who looked a lot like a Knight were spotted. The shortest of the three was making grand movements with her hands as she spoke. Brendol didn’t point them out or make any move to inform them where he and Kylo were headed. They weren’t in a position that they needed to know. 

- 

“Hey, come back!” The owner of the ship Hux had just left called to him, “They’re trying to get ahold of you!” 

Hux rolled his eyes. What did they want that they couldn’t wait until Hux got back for? Was Kylo back? Was he screwing everything up already? Either way, he made his way back to the ship. Not that he made it far. 

The pilot gestured to the radio when Hux returned, and the General took a seat. “What is it?” 

“General! Kylo and your father are coming to pick you up!” There came the out of breath voice of the former Lieutenant General. 

‘Oh, hell.’ Hux inwardly groaned. His father? Not the biggest problem, but certainly one of them. “Tell them to stay at the base, I’ll return on my own.” 

“They’re already on their way, sir.” 

“Fine. Goodbye—“ 

“One more thing! Act surprised when they arrive. Commandant Hux told me to warn you, but Kylo Ren told me not to warn you. I want to keep my job, sir.” Void, was he a failure of an officer. 

But this meant his father knew something. Why else would he get involved? Certainly not because he felt any love for his son. Hux didn’t care too much what the reasoning was. He wanted to warn Mira, but Kylo and Brendol were likely already on their way. He could get caught with her, then they’d both be screwed. 

Mira would feel Kylo when he entered the planet’s atmosphere, anyway. She’d be fine. Hopefully. 

- 

“I don’t think so. If he did, he wouldn’t be trying to be so subtle,” the man blew up a system of planets at once. He wasn’t known for his subtlety. “What do we do?” One part of Finn wanted to go after the General. They could end this there and now. But the other part knew that wouldn’t bring the Order down, and they’d put themselves at risk. 

“Contact General Organa, keep low. We don’t want him to know we’re here.” Poe hadn’t seen the ginger man, but he believed Finn. If anyone could spot the First Order’s General, it would be him. “Come on, let’s get back to the ship.” 

He patted the arms of his friend, a signal to let him go. Finn was reluctant, but did, looking around in panic all the while. “Calm down, Finn. You can do this.” Poe offered words of encouragement. “Come on, BB-8, we’re heading back to the ship.” He looked around for the droid. 

He was nowhere to be found. “Buddy?” Poe called out, looking at people’s feet for any sign of the orange and white droid. “Oh, no.” 

Meanwhile, the droid had rolled its way through crowds of people, having not noticed their master had stopped walking. The droid only realized it was alone when it stopped to look around. It let out a panicked squeal and hurriedly pushed its way through the crowds. All the while, strings of beeps came from him. 

The scenery seemed to grow deader and more ruined as BB-8 rolled along. No, it didn’t seem to. It was. To this, the droid let out a scared string of noises. Until it came to a large structure. It was dead as the area it was in, not that it mattered much to the droid. 

As the droid drew closer, noises became apparent. Crackling noises. BB-8 rolled through the doors, its robotic eyes landing on the form of a blonde woman, who did not look well. The one-of-a-kind droid let out a concerned beep, but BB-8 doubted the woman heard it. So, they rolled cautiously towards the woman. The round droid stopped in front of her, and arm coming out to shock her, to get her attention.

Lucyfer · Apr 16, 2016

“Mira snapped?” Gnaeus spoke it with surprise, and glanced to Phasma, who gave a single nod. “Damn….” He knew it was inevitable with her. She kept everything inside, unlike the rest. She was bound to break eventually, but he’d still thought her loyalty was to them. ‘Perhaps it was because of Kevan.’ They were close. He knew that. They’d been the original trio. Her, Kylo, and Kevan. 

How Mira betrayed them was unknown, it seemed. ‘Of course it’s not known.’ Mira would take her secrets to the grave. They all had their areas of expertise, and Mira had a mind that didn’t break. Not easily. Snoke could break it—which explained what Hux had gone to do. “That was stupid to send Hux alone.” 

Phasma turned her head, and he said, “Well it was! He can’t use the Force. Hell, it’d be stupid if he tried to take Ariel somewhere she didn’t want to go, if she was conscious. Voids, don’t you people know that?” So long as the Force sensitives were conscious, they were dangerous to non-force sensitives. 

“General Hux had no other options. Snoke—” 

“Snoke should have known how stupid it was. It’s like he wanted Hux dead.” 

Phasma paused, only for a moment. The words seemed to strike her. 

Then she shook it off, and walked on with them into the medbay. ‘Perhaps it was Hux’s decision alone to go on his own.’ But Snoke never liked an audience. Would he have told Hux to come alone? 

“So Kevan betrayed us more than just telling the Resistance things,” Gnaeus grasped. “Damn it…,” he said again, managing to speak common with his curses now. 

The medbay was before them then, and Gnaeus walked in and bellowed out, “Ariel!” to draw the woman’s attention. 

~***~ 

Oh, so this did bother the Commandant? Good. “Hardly my belief,” he said it to suggest it was fact. 

He noticed Gnaeus and the others out of the corner of his eye, but it seemed they were well and truly distracted. Paquin was handling things with her gestures, which certainly meant she was explaining it all to Gnaeus. He was immensely grateful. He didn’t want to have to be the bearer of bad news anymore. 

Perhaps Paquin could take the edge off of it. 

Kylo led the Commandant to his wounded ship, not wanting to use any other, and walked in without a word, shutting the door as soon as both of them were in and going right to the pilot’s seat. He continued to act in silence, though it was grating—he wasn’t sure why—and maneuvered the ship quickly to escape the Alderaan ruins so they could shift right into Hyperdrive. ‘Need to get fuel for it on Coruscant.’ He had been abusing the hyperdrive too much lately. At least Coruscant would have such a thing, large planet that it was. And if he was going after Mira, there’d be enough time for the crews on the docks to fuel his ship. 

And Brendol could lecture Hux in peace. As much as Kylo would love to see it, he knew that if he could even sense Mira, his time to catch her would be short. 

~***~ 

“You go after BB-8,” Finn suggested to Poe, “I’ll go contact Leia.” 

“Right,” Poe reached into his new jacket’s pocket and grabbed the keys to the ship. He slapped them into Finn’s hands. “Don’t do anything stupid till I get there.” 

Finn gave him a mock-angry look, before he smiled and jogged off back towards the docks. He could hear someone yelling, and he saw Hux again as he dashed for his ship, noticing Hux walk back towards a ship himself. 

He took a seat in the co-pilot’s chair, and brought up the radio. He called back to what he was calling home now, and waited. It was answered, but not by Leia. “Finn? What’s the matter?” His panic was written on his face. 

“I need to talk to General Organa, now,” he said, trying to keep his voice as calm as he could. The individual frowned. “It’s important. It’s about the First Order on Coruscant.” 

That caused her to nod, and walk off. It took a few minutes, during which Finn tapped his foot impatiently and continued to move in his seat, but eventually, Leia showed up on the screen. “What is it, Finn?” 

And Finn leaned forward, as if to whisper conspiratorially to her. His voice did lower, “General, I’ve seen General Hux here on Coruscant. He’s in disguise, though, so I don’t think he knows that Poe and I are here.” 

“General Hux?” Leia’s eyes were wide, “Is Ben there?” 

Finn shook his head, “Not that I’ve seen. Hux didn’t seem to have any escorts with him.” He hoped that Leia could hear what he was implying. 

~***~ 

Mira may as well have been dead to the world around her as well, for she let herself feel and was consumed by it. The tears flowed easily. The hate, the anger, the fear, the sorrow—all those things she should have known as a Sith were finally felt, but they were not empowering her. They were being released. ‘My chains are broken.’ 

Sith and Jedi mantras mingled and meshed. She was neither, and she knew that, but she was not a Sith. That seemed to just leave Jedi. 

As she held her knees close, something shocked her arm that was definitely not her own lightning. Though, her own sparked out in response, and she heard a terrified squeal and a rolling. 

She lifted her head, and blinked a couple of times in confusion at the droid, who then proceeded to beep out a string of words, an apology of sorts, as it gestured itself into lowering its head and rocking its body underneath it. ‘BB-8.’ 

She had heard of the droid that evaded Kylo Ren, and here it was, before her. ‘Luke. The Resistance!’ Someone was here. Someone important. Something like hope swelled in Mira as she let her legs go and relaxed her posture some. “It’s okay,” she told the droid. “I’m sorry about that,” she motioned with her fingers, “Not exactly under my control right now.” 

More beeps. “The Force.” 

There was a long, drawn out beep at that. “Not exactly.” And then the sound of heavy footfall, and a man in orange came in. 

“There you are!” He let out a relieved sigh as he drew further into the temple. BB-8 rolled right over to him as Mira rose to stand, beeping out its explanation of what had happened. “You shouldn’t get so far away! I’m sorry about BB-8,” he offered, before BB-8 started beeping about her using the Force, but ‘not exactly’ a Jedi. 

Mira merely brushed the back of her hand by her eyes as BB-8 explained, then picked up the bag of the First Order outfit.

KyloGlenn · Apr 18, 2016

Paquin felt the need to shoot an apologetic look to Phasma. She didn’t know Gnaeus would be so outspoken. If she did she would have waited to deal with him. Then again, who knows what kind of trouble he could have gotten in if they didn’t greet him upon his arrival. 

“Could you please not yell in here? Ariel’s not the only patient,” it seemed that some of the Stormtroopers had returned from their missions when Kylo and Paquin were away. There wasn’t many of them, luckily, but there was still some. 

“Shut up!” Ariel’s faint grumble could be heard. Her words weren’t slurred so she was neither drunk or drugged. She was probably very uncomfortable in that moment. 

As they neared, Ariel’s form could be spotted sitting up. Albeit slowly. “End me, Doc. Let me join Kevan in the Void, please.” Ariel complained, rubbing her temples. She didn’t seem torn up over Kevan. She didn’t seem surprised by Gnaeus’ presence either, she’d probably sensed him. 

‘I’ve already killed one knight, I’m not killing any others.’ 

“Sorry, no can do. What I can do, though, is give you some painkillers.” Paquin offered as she moved to riffle through the cabinets. First, she wanted to grab the scar medicine while she was thinking about it. That way it would be glaring at her until Kylo could retrieve it. She had to use a stool to reach both the scar medicine and Ariel’s painkillers. Curse of being possibly the shortest person in the First Order. 

“How’re you?” Ariel asked Gnaeus, mostly in reference to Kevan’s death. Neither of them was as close with Kevan as Mira, or even Kylo, but Kevan was still apart of their lives. 

- 

The Commandant’s jaw clenched shut. What really upset Brendol was the likeliness that Hux and Mira weren’t simply friends, and that Kylo was not blind to it. Thankfully, the Knight of Ren hadn’t seen the full picture. Then there’d be no doubt, everything he’d attempt to hide would be known. 

Brendol stayed silent during the ride to Coruscant, only to keep something bad from slipping out of his mouth. Like a comment on the hideous ship, or making an inaccurate jab at Ren’s flying skills. The black-clad man’s rank was somehow on par with his son’s, there’d be no insults without injury. 

Coruscant’s atmosphere was entered in no time at all and the search for Hux began. If the Lieutenant General had listened to what’d been instructed, surely Hux would be waiting at the hangar he’d contacted the base from. And he was, the Commandant spotted his son in quite an interesting outfit, speaking to some man as they neared closer to the ground. If Brendol were anyone else, he would have passed right over the oddly dressed General. But he recognized his kid. 

“There he is.” The older man finally spoke up, pointing out Hux. 

Hux had seen Kylo’s ship out of the corner of his eye as he somehow managed to keep talking to the owner of the ship. He pretended not to see and tried not to let any sign of annoyance leave his body, in case Kylo could pick up on that. There was another emotion Hux was trying to keep buried: worry. For Mira. Hopefully she had sensed Kylo Ren and was getting the hell out of dodge. 

- 

Leia pushed away the disappointment she felt at the lack of her son. She had to be a General right then, not a mom. “Do not go after him, Finn. It may not look like he has any escorts, but they could be in disguise as well.” The opportunity seemed too good to be true. Hux couldn’t have been alone and she wasn’t about to send two men and a droid to prove that. 

“I’ll organize a backup squad,” she still couldn’t let such an opportunity slip. If Hux did have escorts, there wouldn’t be many. That would be too obvious. More power on the Resistance’s part could do the trick, hopefully. 

“I want you and Poe to keep an eye on him, though. Follow him if you can and keep tabs on who he talks to, where he goes.” Leia listed tasks off. “Report to me if anyone else shows up,” like Ben, “or if he does anything terribly suspicious. Alright?” 

“Alright.” Finn echoed. 

“But, above all, stay safe.” Finn had proved to be a very valuable asset, Poe, as well. Not to mention Leia could only imagine how Rey would react if even the tiniest of hairs on their heads were harmed. 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

- 

Poe’s eyebrows furrowed as BB-8 beeped about the Force and ‘not exactly’ being a Jedi. If she wasn’t a Jedi, then that left only one thing. His gaze moved from the round droid to the crying blonde woman. His hand twitched ever so slightly at his side, tempted to grip the blaster hidden under his jacket. But then he remembered the last time he shot at someone Force-sensitive. 

Kylo Ren had stopped the blast of energy in mid-air, held it there, and then proceeded to capture and torture Poe. 

“What’s your name?” He asked, trying not to make assumptions. It was entirely possible that this woman had nothing to do with the Sith. “My name’s Poe. Poe Dameron.” Maybe telling her his name would make her comfortable enough to share hers. 

“Are you with the General?” The new question that arose was purposely vague, easy to brush off and cause no alarm in case she didn’t know what he was talking about. But if she knew what he was referring to, it would be painfully obvious what side she was on. What would he do then? Attempt to shoot her? That always worked out so well. But maybe she wasn’t as strong as Kylo Ren. 

It seemed to be the only option other than running back to Finn. 

But running would be cowardly. Not to mention the woman would become a new problem if she were left alive. 

BB-8 beeped again, talking about how the wailing woman had been nice to the spherical bot and that restored some hope within the pilot.

Lucyfer · Apr 18, 2016

“Kevan’s not in the Void,” Gnaeus muttered, although he couldn’t be sure. He wasn’t exactly sure how death worked, and he didn’t want to find out. He wasn’t a philosopher—that was Mira and Kylo’s jobs, to think about the Force and posit theories. 

Perhaps his words about Kevan and the Void were what earned him Ariel’s query as he took a seat on the bed near her. “Can’t you tell?” He let his emotions play over him without masking it. Confusion, sorrow, anger—they were all prominent and on display, as much as Ariel’s pain was. 

“They were traitors,” she said, as if it made everything done towards them right. “Mira even tried to rope me into her plot to hide Kevan, and then her own treachery.” She sounded bitter now, sobered up and in pain. 

“Good thing Kylo seems to believe your innocence,” or Ariel would be dead already. He glanced towards Phasma as she stood near the reaching Paquin, and then looked up at Paquin, “So how long ago did you join us?” 

She wasn’t in black. She wasn’t wearing a helmet. He didn’t see a lightsaber, either. It couldn’t have been long ago. ‘At least I’m not that out of the loop.’ Though it certainly felt like it. It felt like he’d been away for years, even though it couldn’t have been more than a few months. 

No, the last time they’d all been together was before Kylo was wounded. ‘But after….’ Mira had called them all together, briefly, to inform them of new orders from Snoke. ‘So she did snap….’ Snoke would have recognized if she had malicious intent back then. 

What a shame. 

~***~ ‘Here.’ 

Kylo Ren could sense Mira Ren, a rarity. Sorrow. It was weak, and weakening quickly. Kylo knew he wouldn’t have much time to find her, and he doubted then that the General was with her. Mira kept herself together around others, after all. ‘So where….’ 

The thought finished itself immediately. Kylo Ren knew where Mira would have gone. She wasn’t subtle when she was emotional. 

It was sheer luck that Hux was in the docks and that Brendol saw him. Kylo paused once the ship was parked, if only to do a double-take, and then to laugh aloud at the sight of Hux in that outfit. “Your son has no sense of fashion.” He hardly noticed the bag. The bag wasn’t important. All that was important was what Hux was wearing. 

He walked to the door of the ship then, and Brendol walked at his side. He took the turn to go to Hux, but paused when he noticed that Kylo was not following. "Ren?" 

Kylo felt a sudden spike of fear, and turned, but saw nothing. He frowned. It had felt so…familiar. He turned back to the Commandant, acknowledging that he had been spoken to, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He didn’t intend to explain himself as he started to walk. 

“Where are you going?” The Commandant's tone demanded an answer, and Kylo didn't want to be hounded for one. 

“There’s a knight I still need to kill.” He offered, “And she’s better at hiding that Kevan.” Already her emotions were dimming, her guards rising. She knew he was here. She was trying to grasp control again. “I’m sure you have much to say to your son, don’t you? You do your job as a father, I'll do mine as an officer of the First Order.” He didn't often like to make his position in the First Order so overt, as he often liked to feel as if he wasn't so strongly tied to them, but then? Yes. 

~***~ 

Finn would do his best to stay safe. He started to leave the ship when the conversation with Leia ended, a bit more optimistic to think that back-up would be showing up. He hopped out of the ship, and as he was rounding it, he noticed the figure in black. 

His heart stopped. 

He whipped right back around the ship and pressed his back to it, having seen Kylo Ren start to turn. ‘Shit. Shit, this is not good, I have to warn Poe. I have to get to Poe.’ But where was Poe? 

No time to think of where Poe was, it was time to find Poe! 

Finn took off running towards a crowd, and then towards the exit from the docks, thinking only of finding Poe and nothing else. 

“Hey, hey,” he stopped a passerby on the road, “You seen a small droid? BB unit, orange and white?” He’d stop everyone if he had to in order to find Poe. He already knew that Kylo Ren had gotten his hands on Poe before, and he’d not have that happen to his friend again. 

~***~ ‘Here.’ 

Mira felt it, and Mira immediately forced herself to start withdrawing. A deep breath followed a deep breath. She relaxed her posture and noticed the fear in Poe. 

“It’s all right, BB-8. Poe Dameron is a smart man.” Mira told the droid as it tried to defend her. She could see the way that didn’t ease Poe’s nerves at all. He understood. “Mira Vallens, formerly Mira Ren, and before that, Ceres Mandon,” the only way she was getting to Leia was to show her hand. 

No tricks. 

No hiding. 

“As for the general, I'd ask you to specify, but I know who you mean. I was here with him. I know General Leia as well, though. I brought Rollo Henderson back.” 

That name was familiar to him. Confusion came over his face, a, “Huh?” escaping his lips before he could stop it. He remembered hearing about that, though he’d never gotten any names. He just heard that there was a peaceful exchange of prisoners. 

“Help me get to Leia.” 

“No way, missy.” There was something of a laugh in his voice as he shook his head. BB-8 beeped out its disapproval, “I can’t, BB-8. How do we know we can trust her?” 

It beeped out a string of things, mentioning Finn and traitors. 

“I am a traitor to the Knights,” Mira agreed, but would not agree about the First Order. “If you want to stick around for about…ten minutes, you’ll have proof of that. Kylo Ren has just arrived.” 

That was enough to make Poe turn around, the blaster escaping its holster despite what he knew. He was paranoid that Kylo Ren was already there, despite the timeline given. He was not looking forward to seeing him again. He had no intentions of being tortured again, either, or unintentionally giving away secrets of the Resistance.

KyloGlenn · Apr 18, 2016

“Not that long,” Paquin carefully hopped off of the stool, placing the scar medicine on the counter while keeping the painkillers in one hand. “Think less than forty-eight hours.” Well, technically she wasn’t sure if she was a full Knight yet. But she’d be following Kylo around on his little missions for quite a while. 

“Around the time that Kevan’s treachery was discovered.” That’s at least what Ariel picked up from Mira. Mira didn’t seem too fond of the medic, but Ariel figured that was because of Kevan’s situation. Either way, it didn’t matter now. 

“It all happened very suddenly.” The Force, the Knights, it was all sprung on her in a very short amount of time. “What about you?” She asked as she shook two pills from the bottle. She knew Gnaeus hadn’t asked the question to get to know Paquin, but that’s what she was doing. 

She filled a cup with water from a nearby sink before handing the cup and the pills to Ariel, earning a thank you. “Don’t take more than what’s given to you.” 

“I’m not a drug addict.” 

‘I’m sure you’re not an alcoholic, either.’ 

- 

Brendol almost scoffed at Kylo Ren calling himself an officer of the First Order but held it back. He did have to be a father right then, sort of. He was prepared to give his son a nice, long lecture and fatherly may not be the word to describe it. “I’ll meet you back here, then.” 

And with that he turned and took the turn to join his son. 

“Brendol!” The Commandant called out to his son of the same name. It wasn’t like he could yell out ‘Hux’ on the docks, then everyone would be aware of General Hux’s presence. 

Hux offered a nod of both thanks and dismissal to the man he’d been babbling with before turning to the sound of his father’s voice. He spotted the older man, without Kylo. On one hand he was upset that he’d been left to deal with his father alone, but on the other he knew it was better to speak with his father alone. Especially since Brendol new something. 

“Brendol.” Hux echoed as he met his father halfway. He was not worthy of the title ‘dad’ or any of its variants. 

- 

Poe turned back to Mira when there were no signs of Kylo Ren, gun still drawn but aimed at the ground. “If Kylo Ren’s here, I have no intentions of sticking around.” Finn came to mind and panic arose within the pilot. Finn probably didn’t know of Ren’s presence, he could be in trouble. 

“I can tell General Organa you’re looking for her, but that’s it. If she shows any interest in you, I’m sure we’ll find you. Mira Vallens, right? Formerly Mira Ren and before that, Ceres Mandon.” He listed off the names she’d told him to confirm so he could relay correct information to the General. 

Again, BB-8 protested, gently rolling into Poe’s leg. “Come on, BB-8. We need to find Finn,” he backed away from Mira, wary of turning his back to her. 

Finn was still frantically searching for anyone who’d seen the droid or Poe. He’d stopped an alien who spoke in some language he didn’t understand. “I don’t know what you’re saying!” He exclaimed before moving on to the next person. “Please, have you seen a droid? Orange and—“ 

“Orange and white? Round? Yeah, it was rollin’ it’s way to the old Jedi temple.” The man pointed in the direction. 

“Thank you!” And with that Finn took off running, calling Poe’s name all the while. 

Poe heard the calling, just noise that sounded vaguely like his name at first. But then his name became clearer. “Finn?” He yelled, turning only to be slammed into by the man. “Are you okay?” 

“Poe! Kylo…Kylo Ren is—“ Finn was out of breath as he spoke, clutching onto the sleeves of Poe’s jacket. 

“He’s here, yeah, I know. Are you alright, buddy? Did he see you?”

Lucyfer · Apr 19, 2016

Gnaeus let out a, “Hmm,” as he thought back to how long it’d been, “About ten years now, give or take.” He’d been there before Ariel, but Kevan and Mira were there before him. “Maybe nine. I think it’s going to be ten soon. Time tends to blur together when you’re traveling a lot,” he waved it off, “But the Knights have only been around for sixteen years, so I’ve been here a while.” 

Pills were passed on to Ariel. “Hey, Ari, you’re not going to need your lighsaber for a bit, are you?” 

“Uh…?” 

“I’m pretty sure Paquin here doesn’t have a lightsaber yet, right?” He glanced to them, and saw Phasma nod, “So she could borrow yours while you’re out of commission to train, right?” 

“No.” The staunch refusal startled Gnaeus, “I saw what can happen.” 

“What do you mean?” 

Ariel shook her head and downed the pills. Then, she answered, “I’ve seen Kylo break crystals, and Mira obliterated hers earlier. I’m not having mine get destroyed in some novice’s hands. No offense—but those things are difficult to make.” 

Too much concentration. Too much focus. Too much of herself went into it, that she wouldn’t want to do it again. Ever. 

~***~ 

Brendol Hux knew it was not safe to converse in public, not with the topic he had in mind. Yet, Kylo Ren had the keys to the ship, which was going to make privacy difficult to come by. “I don’t even want to know how you lost your clothing,” his eyes did turn towards the bag and he recognized the black material in it. 

Even so, what his son wore was utterly disgusting and not at all befitting of his station. He supposed it helped him go unnoticed, but it helped nothing else. “Do you have any idea the media cover-up I’ve had to do for you?” 

Enough to be called ‘father’, certainly. Not that his son ever treated him with the proper respect. “We do not have much time before that wretch of an Officer,” he mocked, “returns with his trophy, so I trust you have an appropriate lie in mind?” 

He would phrase it that way, to see how the General reacted to it—he wanted it to be clear to his son that he knew enough to destroy him. He was fortunate that Brendol had no such thing in mind. They were kin after all; if he ruined his son’s reputation, it would reflect on himself. 

~***~ 

They made way for Kylo Ren as he walked, feeling the spike in emotion again. ‘Hm?’ 

He knew to be wary. Mira had control now, he could sense that in the Force as he was drawn deeper and deeper into Coruscant. Was this a trap? ‘Doesn’t matter.’ Kevan had tried to trap him, as well, and that had not worked out well for him. 

Kylo Ren hardly realized he was on the trail of Finn until he saw the Jedi Temple in the background and saw a figure in a familiar jacket running towards it. He paused. His own anger spiked. ‘You called them!’ It was all Kylo could think, not imagining this was mere coincidence. 

Mira had gone to see Leia, after all. Of course she had gotten Resistance allies to come and pick her up. It was the only thing that made sense in his paranoid mind, which was painting Mira as more dangerous with every passing second. Was she planning to drag Hux to the Resistance, as well? ‘No, she wouldn’t have let him go free.’ 

So what was her end game, then? 

“Watch where you’re going!” The man who had just been harassed by Finn said as Kylo passed him by, all but bumping into him. 

Kylo threw his hand out, and threw the man into a building. 

There was a satisfying crack. 

~***~ 

Mira decided she liked the droid that Kylo Ren had scoured the galaxy for, and never found. ‘You have to let them get away.’ A part of her wanted to scream out in protest that if they left her, she was dead, but she swallowed it down. 

No, no she would not be dead, she wasn’t going to allow herself to be dead. “Yes. Leia knew me as Ceres. Tell her I still don’t like it,” a brief smile, before she looked up at the shout and the sound of heavy footfall. ‘Traitor.’ 

It really shouldn’t be the first word to come to mind when she saw the Stormtrooper dash in, out of breath and panicked. She watched with some amusement as the two slammed into each other, before she started to walk, forcing the walls down. 

Kylo Ren needed to find her, and not them. “No, no I don’t think—wait, how do you—” and then his eyes alighted upon the woman in the dress. His initial thought was that she was pretty. 

Then he realized who she was. He’d seen her only briefly, on the Starkiller Base. She had been walking with another man who was making derisive comments comparing it to the Death Star. “That’s another one!” Finn’s panic spiked again. 

“Hello traitor,” Mira greeted him and watched the fury rise in his eyes. “Oh, have some pride, FN-2187. Aren’t you happy to be a traitor?” 

His face screwed up, uncertain of how to answer. BB-8 started to beep frantically again, calling her a ‘traitor’, too. His expression softened, and he looked from Poe to Mira, “So you know Kylo Ren’s here, too?” 

“He’s here for me, not you two. I may or may not have kidnapped General Hux and thrown the First Order into a bit of a tizzy fit.” 

Finn couldn’t help the fluttering smile that came to his lips and the near laugh, a bit at the word choice, before he frowned, “Wait, you kidnapped Hux? I just saw him—” 

“I let him go. Long story. You two need to go, or Kylo Ren will find us all.”

KyloGlenn · Apr 20, 2016

It was starting to hit Paquin just what she was committing to. Would she be with the Knights for ten years? Was she just around until the war was over? Would the war last ten years? She didn’t have problems with commitment, she’d been with the Order for ten years. 

‘I’d be almost forty.’ She almost laughed at herself. 

“No offense taken. Though, for the record, I don’t think I’d break it.” Then again, she didn’t know how easily they broke. “Besides, I’ve got the vibroblade to practice with.” She gestured to the weapon at her hip. It wasn’t the same, but it would work for the time being. Until she could get a lightsaber of her own. 

It didn’t feel right to use Ariel’s, especially considering how difficult to make Ariel claimed them to be. 

“See? She doesn’t need mine.” The redheaded woman shrugged before moving to lay down, gently urging Gnaeus off of the bed with her foot. “I’m tired, my sleep kept getting interrupted,” by Kevan’s death. And the medic that was assisting her in Paquin’s absence. 

“I can’t promise there won’t be any more interruptions,” who knew what could pop up? “But you can sleep. Your head should feel better when you wake up.” 

- 

“I don’t recall asking for your help,” Hux mumbled under his breath. He would’ve preferred his father to stay out of his business, even if it resulted in his own death. It was quite the extreme and rather petty, but Hux didn’t care. He didn’t need his father’s help before and he certainly didn’t want it now. 

The General’s upper lip twitched just the slightest bit into a snarl at his father’s next words. Of all the people to hold such information… “Of course I do, father,” the way he hissed the word, so full of disdain. Brendol seemed unaffected by it. “Lord forbid anything untoward taint your precious name,” his words were accompanied by an eye roll. 

“You’re lucky you’re my kin or you’d be dead by now.” the Commandant spoke in a hushed tone. 

‘I could say the same to you,’ Hux’s mind spat. “Oh, now I get special treatment? How funny.” Hux quickly changed the subject, though the bitter tone remained, “Is Ren’s ship unlocked, or do I have to loiter about in this awful outfit.” Hux was seriously regretting his clothing choice. But if he wore just black, it wouldn’t do much to disguise him. 

- 

“You heard her, let’s go.” Poe nodded his head in the direction they came, Finn’s hands dropping from the older man’s arms. 

“Poe, we can’t just leave her,” Finn then turned to Mira. “Come with us.” His initial opinion of her had changed upon hearing the frantic beeps of BB-8—which he’d recently come to fully understand—calling her a traitor. Traitors had to stick together, didn’t they? 

“Finn! She can’t come with us. She can take care of herself just fine, I’m sure we’ll be seeing her again. Right?” He turned to the blonde as he spoke the last word. 

“Us rebels have to stick together, don’t we?” Finn voiced his previous thoughts, replacing ‘traitor’ with ‘rebel’. 

“You were different. You were trying to help—“ 

“Is that not what she’s trying to do?” She was urging them to go so they’d live. 

“We don’t have time for this.” Poe didn’t like seeming like the bad guy, but his life and Finn’s were what mattered. So, he turned and headed in the other direction. “Come on, BB-8.” The droid couldn’t disobey its master. With it’s head dropped and a long, sad beep being emitted, the bot slowly rolled after Poe. But not without giving one last look to Mira. 

Finn made a gesture to Mira for her to follow. Unless she was anything like way, or unless Kylo Ren was severely injured, she wouldn’t live long enough to reunite with them. Surely Poe couldn’t do anything if she just happened to follow them and just happened to wander onto their ship? He didn’t wait to see if she followed. 

They didn’t take many steps before the dark, menacing figure was spotted, the crowds parting and making a path for him. Poe, Finn, and BB-8 were still hidden by the crowd, but they wouldn’t be for long. It seemed to keep from being spotted, they had to go back. Maybe they could run around the Jedi temple. “We need to circle around.” Poe mumbled to his friend. And hopefully that maneuver would work.

Lucyfer · Apr 20, 2016

“You wouldn’t,” Gnaeus said, “They’re actually difficult to break,” it was impressive that Kylo had broken his in the first place. It was also idiotic. 

Mira had probably done it on purpose. 

He started to move as he felt Ariel’s foot, “Night night, princess,” he found himself saying, giving a nod to Paquin, “I’d say take me to Kylo Ren, but it seems he’s gone,” Gnaeus couldn’t sense him any longer. ‘So there may be one more interruption.’ 

Mira Ren. 

He wondered if Luke could feel them, dying. 

He wondered if Leia could. Did the Resistance know of the in-fighting now? 

“We ought to take advantage of the time before I get to yell at Kylo for leaving me out of things again. If you have a vibroblade, I’m up for helping you with combat. I don’t get to do it as much as I should,” but then again, he hadn’t been called into battle in a long while. 

“With a lightsaber?” Phasma said. 

“Well yeah. I’d rather hurt her with that then a vibroblade. Vibros leave nasty wounds. She won’t bleed out from a lightsaber,” she might from a vibroblade. 

He could feel Phasma’s disapproval. 

~***~ 

Brendol Hux took a glance back at the ruined ship, even though he knew the answer, “Unfortunately, you have to loiter around in that ridiculous outfit,” he would agree with his son on that, as he let his gaze return to him and looked him over again. 

He shook his head in disgust at his son’s lack of fashion sense. If he cared enough, he’d ask what possessed his son to put on such things, but he didn’t. He was glad he’d done something to hide his presence here. After all, if he hadn’t, there’d be even more incriminating photos of him and Mira Ren, no doubt. 

There was a sudden outcry then, from further off. Brendol’s lips curled into something that was almost a smile as he understood what that could be, “At least Snoke’s bloodhound is good for one thing.” And one thing only—but every leader needed a beast, now and then. 

Kylo Ren must have found Mira. That would mean the despicable woman would soon be gone and no more a threat. 

~***~ ‘I don’t deserve….’ Mira had to stop the thought as she stared at Finn, his emotions almost giving her whiplash. When was the last time she’d felt warmth like this? It must have been a while, because the urge to scream and shove them away also grew. 

“Right,” she echoed Poe, but it was half-hearted. 

She wanted to go. Poe was against it, but the droid and Finn were not. 

Her steps were hesitant, but they started to follow them, until they got to the exit of the temple. ‘Kylo.’ 

And he was storming towards the temple. “If you want to help, come around and pick me up. Otherwise…,” she glanced to Poe, “Again. Right?” Yet it contained the knowledge that ‘again’ might not be feasible. 

It was the last thing she could do for both Leia and Hux, though. Protect Luke. Protect the Resistance; she couldn’t explain then how it would help Hux, yet she felt it could. The Resistance needed the stable force that was the First Order, and Hux would need them far more than he needed the Knights. 

“What are you doing?” Finn started, but Mira walked out of the shadows, out from the Temple, and into sight. “Mira!” Finn hissed and would have followed her if it weren’t for Poe grabbing his shoulder and pulling him back. 

“You heard her, Finn,” and as he said it, he saw then—she was helping. “C’mon, while she has him distracted.” 

For Poe heard Kylo boom out: “Where are your Resistance friends, Mira?” 

Poe pulled at Finn to bring him along, to go around the pair and get towards the docks. 

~***~ 

Kylo did not expect Mira to stride out of the temple, composed and dressed in, well, a dress. He didn’t hide his irritation that the traitor wasn’t at her side. “Where are your Resistance friends, Mira?” He asked, raising his voice in the hopes it would carry to them. 

“Gone,” Mira motioned away, “It’s just me, Ren.” Her, sans lightsaber. Sans weapon. Sans sanity. 

“You, and the General’s clothing, I see.” He hadn’t gotten close enough to see that Hux had a bag of his own clothes. 

Mira calmly shifted that behind her back. ‘Holocron.’ And coat. She was keeping those. “What can I say?” 

“You can tell me what you’ve done, and where your friends have gone if they're abandoning you.” 

“That's no fun. Why don't you take the information, Ren? You can take whatever you want, right?” It wasn't smart to antagonize him, he lived on emotion, but she was so used to it. 

“If that's how you want it.” And like that, the opening into the Jedi temple suddenly began to crumble, and the large pieces immediately shifted to try and crush Mira. 

She evaded, rolled, crushing the bag against herself and dirtying the dress, but succeeding in not getting destroyed.

KyloGlenn · Apr 20, 2016

"I don't remember signing up for you hurting me." A joke. A bad one. 

Paquin could also feel Phasma's disapproval. She wasn't sure if it was because of the Force, or because of the tone of voice Phasma had used. The medic herself wasn't too sure how good of an idea this was. 'Do it for the bonding.' Her mind convinced her. Paquin wasn't good at forming relationships, she was an awkward person. Whatever would help, she'd jump at. 

She'd be with the Knights for a while, after all. 

"But I'm signing up for it now. It's not like I have anything better to do." She felt utterly useless in the medbay at that moment, everyone seemed to be taken care of. Ariel was already out like a light, Paquin could've sworn she heard snoring. The Stormtroopers were either treated or were being treated. 

"I'm not the best at combat," she warned. "It's very likely that I will be injured. I ask you to be conscious of my limbs, I'd prefer not to lose any of them." Other than that, she was just fine with pain and whatever burns or cuts she'd receive. She was glad she didn't bother to unpack her bag of medical supplies. She might need them. 

- 

Hux inwardly groaned as he unconsciously tugged at the too-tight clothing. Dumb Ren, of course he didn't think to keep his ship unlocked for his fellow travellers. Didn't matter now, he'd have to suffer through it. 

Upon hearing the outcry, worry surged through Hux. Had Kylo already gotten ahold of Mira? She couldn't have been silly enough to let him get close, could she? He didn't want to see Kylo walking back with a dead Mira in his grasp. "That's about all he's good for." He hid the worry, only as to not earn a lecture from his father. 

Minutes went by, and then chaos erupted. Sort of. In the distance, Hux could've sworn he saw familiar figures. And as they came closer, he realized his eyes hadn't failed him. "That's FN-2187 and the droid. And that pilot, Poe Dameron." They were already boarding a ship. 

'Stupid fucking Ren.' Now he couldn't follow their ship. 

- 

Poe wasted no time in dragging Finn around the temple and around the pair of Force users, Finn was not protesting. BB-8 did its best to keep up with them, rolling frantically behind. The docks were in sight, ships leaving and ships docking. They two pushed through the crowd, BB-8 squealing so people would keep space between their legs for the sphere to follow. 

"Finn, you have the keys!" Poe held his hand out as they neared the ship, the keys being slapped into his open hand not long after. 

The ship was a light cruiser, big enough really for just the two of them and BB-8. But it was fast and held just what they needed. And at that point, it seemed what they needed to hold was Mira. "We have to go back for her," Finn spoke as he maneuvered into the co-pilot's seat. 

"Yeah, I know." Poe sighed as he settled into the pilot's seat, going through the process of starting the ship. "But if she does anything, I swear..." He'd probably take the blame for Finn. 

"She won't do anything! If she was going to, she would've done it already!" Finn exclaimed and BB-8 beeped its agreement. 

"Yeah, yeah." Poe waved off, lifting the ship off of the ground and circling back to the Jedi temple. 

"Look, there they are! Land on Kylo Ren!" 

"I can't land on Ren without landing on Mira." Though maybe it would be worth it... Either way, Poe lowered the cruiser. He hovered behind Kylo Ren, as that was the only place he could. He lowered the ramp, "Keep it steady, Finn." And with that, Poe moved to stand by the open entry way. 

He held onto his blaster once again and aimed it at the towering Knight. He knew Ren would likely sense the shot and stop it like he had on Jakku, but he shot anyway. But not before calling to Mira, "Let's go, Blondie!" She just had to get passed Kylo Ren. Easier said than done. 

Not to mention the fact that the Sith could just jump into their ship and kill them.

Lucyfer · Apr 20, 2016

“You’re a Knight. Getting hurt is part of the job description. Somewhere. It wasn’t in fine print,” Gnaeus chuckled, seeming to be better at taking bad jokes than most of those he knew. Phasma didn’t argue it any further, but gave a nod. 

Knights would be knights. 

Paquin agreed to it all, fortunately. “Robot limbs are all the rage, you know,” Gnaeus said as he started to walk towards the exit of the medbay, “Phasma, you’ll have to show us a good area to spar—I don’t know this ship any better than I knew the Finalizer.” And he hadn’t known the Finalizer all that well, to be fair. 

If Paquin wasn’t good at combat, she’d need all the help he could offer, and better him than Kylo, who barely knew the meaning of the word restraint. 

That was why it was odd for Gnaeus to feel the spark of rage so far out as he was, from Kylo. It wasn’t strong, but it must have been overwhelming to anyone near Kylo Ren. ‘You failed.’ He knew it immediately, but didn’t say anything in case Paquin wasn’t that attuned yet. ‘You failed….’ Badly. What could upset Kylo Ren so much? 

He’d find out soon, he knew, and he’d end up regretting asking his questions, but he’d know. 

Phasma would lead them to the training grounds for the Troopers, which was the size of a hangar. Of course, there were that many troopers, and they needed the space. “Here should be sufficient,” she told them, “I will stay to monitor,” she didn’t know Gnaeus well enough to trust that he wouldn’t harm Paquin severely. 

~***~ 

Mira heard the lightsaber as she got to her feet and took a staggering step back to avoid the burning blade as it cut near her eyes. Another slash came, and Mira was backstepping quickly—too quickly. She lost her footing over the debris and hit the ground roughly on her back as Kylo twirled the blade and thrust it downwards. 

His aim was put off by a rock flying at his masked face. The blade seared dress and bag as Mira moved and got back to her feet. The next slash cut open the bag and the contents spilled out. Mira let it, but grasped the coat before it struck the ground. The flare of Kylo’s fury preceded the lightning that crackled at his feet and tore the rest of the attire to shreds. ‘You have to fight. You can’t evade and live.’ She would tire before Kylo. She was still shrugging off wounds from before, and hadn’t exactly had sleep or a meal since…well, Mira didn’t have time to try and remember, but she was certain her last meal had been with Hux. 

A while ago. ‘You should be running.’ But Mira was holding on to the vain hope that Finn and Poe would return, so as the lightsaber came again, Mira threw out her hand and grasped the Force. 

Kylo Ren’s arm flew back, held and pinned, much to his surprise. 

Mira took a deep breath, and felt the battle of wills as Kylo tried to break free. Mira would let him, but not before grasping a boulder as well and making sure it was hovering over Kylo’s head. She let go of both at the same time, but Kylo didn’t dodge. He caught the boulder, and threw it right back at Mira. 

She feinted, and it struck a pillar, shattering it. 

More screaming, and then the sounds of the ship. Mira’s relief showed and Kylo turned just as the door opened and the ramp lowered. 

Of course the blaster shot was stopped as Mira ran for the ship. Kylo Ren would have turned it back, but Mira added pressure, and suddenly, the paused shot went right for Kylo Ren and struck him full in the chest, sending him back the way the bowcaster should have. It hit the same mark, guided as it was, and Mira jumped as Kylo fell, catching Poe’s free hand to steady herself once she was on board. “Thank you.” 

And Mira threw up both door and ramp with the Force as Poe released her with a nod, and then dashed back to get to the pilot’s seat. 

Kylo wouldn’t be down for long. He barely acknowledged how BB-8 squealed and spun around in an excited circle at the success so far. 

~***~ 

It burned. That sort of blaster should have barely damaged his armor, but with Force behind it, it had done more than just damage his armor. Kylo Ren felt his flesh burnt again, and he knew it was right over the wound Chewbacca had given him. Right over his heart. ‘Any stronger….’ Perhaps he should thank his lucky stars that Mira wasn’t. 

He rose to see the ship getting away, rising higher to escape rather than to engage him. Futile anger had him throw a bolt of lightning at it, but it missed, and Kylo didn’t care to try again. No, what he did, was grab the First Order hat that hadn’t been completely shredded, and walked back towards the docks, lightsaber still illuminated, and fury coursing through him. 

There was fear, as well. 

Snoke was going to lose it when he knew that Mira was with the Resistance. ‘Everything that she knows….’ 

It was far worse than FN-2187. 

No one stopped him, not even Coruscant security, as he walked into the dock area and located the Ginger and his Clone. No one had ever said General Hux wasn’t a clone. When his eyes fell upon Hux, his first instinct was to cut the man down. Instead, he threw the General’s hat at him, “What is the meaning of this?” He snapped. 

“It’s a First Order hat, Ren.” 

Would he get in trouble for clenching Brendol’s throat shut? He wasn’t certain. He decided it wasn’t worth the risk as he said, completely ignoring Brendol, “You," he gestured with the lightsaber, close enough so Hux would be able to feel the energy coming off of it. He could see tension in the older one, "will be the one to explain to the Supreme Leader why Mira—Ceres—escaped to the Resistance.” Kylo wasn’t taking the fall for this. This had been Hux’s job. “And so help you if Snoke decides you could have done more to prevent it.”

KyloGlenn · Apr 21, 2016

One day Paquin would have to accept that she was simply not funny. Today was not going to be that day. 

Paquin felt the smallest pang of rage, her eyes looking from Gnaeus to Phasma. Their helmets hid their faces, no way of telling if it came from either of them. It seemed too distant to be them, anyway. She found that when she was trying to grasp at the Force, she became more aware of the feelings around her. 

So, with that in mind, her hand twitched in the direction of a passing Stormtrooper, attempting to hold onto him like she had the clawdite. It barely worked, probably because she wasn’t in a state of fear, but it served its purpose. For a moment, she became much more aware of Gnaeus and Phasma’s emotions, as well as the very confused trooper’s. It also became clear that the rage was certainly not on the base. ‘Kylo?’ Who else could she have been feeling so far away? 

If he was angry enough for her to feel it, something certainly not good had happened. 

She brushed it off for the moment, releasing the trooper as they arrived at the training grounds. She’d been there a few times, troopers trained hard. “That’s not necessary, Captain.” She shook her head, not wanting to keep Phasma from doing anything she needed to. Though, she did appreciate the woman looking out for her. 

She let her the medical supplies drop to the ground, as well as the blaster she was carrying around. “So, should I just…run at you?” She questioned as she turned to her fellow Knight. 

- 

Hux almost laughed when his father replied to Ren. That was quite possibly the best thing to ever come out of his father’s mouth. Yet, Hux didn’t laugh. Not when a lightsaber was pointed at him, close enough to feel the energy radiating from the blade. His expression didn’t show any fear, he did not tense as his father did. Kylo Ren had threatened Hux with that lightsaber many times before, this was nothing new. 

Kylo’s failure to capture Mira could work in Hux’s favor. Not only was Mira—he’d still call her that—still alive, but Kylo’s incapability to recapture her could overshadow Hux’s. Ren was Snoke’s apprentice, Snoke’s favorite. Surely that would hit harder than Hux, a non-Force sensitive, failing to keep a grasp on a conscious Force user. “Of course I will, Ren. I was planning on it anyway.” 

Now that he thought about it, why did Snoke request Hux bring Mira? Instead of someone who could handle her much better. To be fair, at the time, Hux thought he could’ve handled the woman and would’ve been offended had the Supreme Leader said otherwise. But still, the Supreme Leader should have known better. 

“Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to return to the base now.” So he could get out of the stupid disguise and hopefully convince Snoke that there was nothing he could have done. He wasn’t sweating it, though. Mira’s words mixed with his own thoughts had assured himself that he could easily disband from Snoke and the Knights if he had to. 

- 

Poe wasted no time in speeding off of Coruscant once his back touched the pilot’s seat. He wouldn’t return to the base and the General immediately, in case Kylo somehow made it back to his ship and was following them. The Order knew where there base was, that wasn’t the concern. The concern was that they’d get shot at and obliterated. 

Finn stood from his seat as soon as the ramp closed, offering the seat to Mira. “Are you alright?” He asked, looking over the woman. Her outfit certainly wasn’t but, for the most part, she looked fine. Nothing that would end her life, he didn’t think. “We have bandages? Somewhere.” He wasn’t sure what bandages would do to help her, but he offered anyway. Since they didn’t have much else to offer. 

Once Poe decided they weren’t being followed, he set the coordinates to the base on D’Qar and jumped into lightspeed. The members who had resided on Naboo had moved to the headquarters, and that’s where General Organa would be. As well as Rollo Henderson, who would probably welcome Mira with open arms. 

Poe turned in his seat to observe Mira, Finn, and BB-8. BB-8’s gaze was tilted up at Mira as it let out squeals of glee, happy that they had succeeded in escaping Kylo Ren and were safe. A grin pulled at Poe’s face as he observed the cute droid, but then he shifted his eyes to Mira. He looked over her outfit as he spoke, “You don’t have any weapons under that dress do you? I don’t really want to go searching.” It was mostly a joke, but there was a hint of seriousness. 

There wasn’t really any place for a weapon to be hidden, but women could get pretty crafty.

Lucyfer · Apr 21, 2016

“We’ll be fine, Phasma,” Gnaeus stated, and Phasma let out a sigh. 

“Very well,” she did have much else to look after with Hux and Kylo Ren being gone. It wasn’t like the ex-Lieutenant General knew how to run anything. She said no words of farewell, just turned and left them. 

Gnaeus smirked beneath his helmet, and took his blade into hand. Like the rest of the Knights, it lit red when Paquin asked if she should just run at him, “Sure. Go ahead. See if that works for ya,” Gnaeus curled his fingers in the gesture for Paquin to ‘come forward’, relaxing his posture into an offensive stance. 

His blade was simple, the hilt straight. He’d made no errors in his craftsmanship, but it couldn’t be called anything special, either. “Some can make that work. Kylo’s pretty good at the all-out charge and murder thing,” his tone implied he didn’t think that was going to be Paquin’s strength, but he’d certainly let her try it. 

If he took a hit, knowing it was coming, then he had a lot more work to do anyway. He’d take the pain he earned for such stupidity. 

Some of the Stormtroopers in the area, who were also training, paused to look over at them. Some didn’t even hide their interest, drawing nearer to get a look at a lightsaber duel. After all, it wasn’t often they could watch such a thing; Kylo Ren flaunted his power, but he didn’t exactly duel, and he didn’t really show-off, either. 

No, he was just brutal. 

No one wanted to be around that. 

Gnaeus had the feel and posture of someone who wasn’t about to cut all of their heads off. 

~***~ 

Kylo Ren knew that General Hux never let his fear be seen, let alone felt, but Kylo was usually certain that it was there. At that moment, as he looked at the pale face illuminated by the red, he was not so sure. ‘Something’s changed.’ Kylo could not place it, but there was a new confidence in the general’s gaze when he volunteered himself for the role of bearer of bad news. 

Kylo’s head canted slightly, the only indication of his confusion. 

Pulling the lightsaber away and turning it off rapidly was a show of false anger. He was suddenly far more confused and worried. “Good,” Kylo spat the word. “We’ll go immediately.” The sooner, the better. 

Snoke could think of something. There had to be something left to do, to make sure Mira didn’t talk, to somehow stop her before this all went to hell. ‘Leia might just kill her.’ A vain hope. His mother was not as cold as Hux, General though she was, she’d softened. Motherhood had done her no favors. 

Kylo turned and walked towards the ship, and Brendol immediately fell in step with him back to the ship. The FO hat was left abandoned, and Kylo was pleased at least one of the Hux’s had some respect for his power. He could feel something like fear coming from Brendol. 

Kylo wouldn’t have guessed that it was not him he feared, nor really, even Snoke. 

The ship was opened for them, and Brendol took the co-pilot’s seat. His son was certainly not deserving of such a place. Kylo wasted no time in preparing the ship to leave the docks and return to Alderaan, but at least by then some of his anger had quelled. In truth, he was starting to fret over what would happen when he and Hux went before Snoke. ‘He will not like this. From either of us.’ He and Hux had been…failing Snoke a lot lately. Inability to retrieve one droid. Inability to get one piece of information. Inability to stop Mira. ‘But we killed Kevan.’ After Kevan turned some of their allies on them. After they let him cause harm to the organization in the first place. 

No, this conversation was not going to go well. Favorite pet or not, Kylo knew to be afraid. 

~***~ 

They were leaving. They were leaving right for Leia, and as Mira found herself accepting the seat, too stunned to speak, she wondered why. ‘Shouldn’t they call ahead?’ Warn Leia. Make sure it was all right? Mira didn’t realize she was clutching the coat like some sort of safety blanket. 

If the others even knew what it was, they had the courtesy not to mention it. BB-8 squealed delights, and Mira’s eyes fell to it as Finn mentioned bandages, “No…no, I’m all right.” Somehow. Without a lightsaber. “If I had a weapon, don’t you think I would have used it by now?” 

"Fair enough," Poe could agree with that logic. He would have taken out a weapon against Kylo--he did. 

Mira did, however, remove the necklace from her neck, and then dug the holocron and the credits from Hux’s coat, and held them out, “This is all I have. This, and what I’m wearing.” 

“What’s that?” Finn asked, reaching for the box and then hesitating to ask, “Uh, may I?” 

“Yes,” and so Finn took it immediately, turning the small box over in his hands, “It’s a holocron. Hopefully Jedi. I found it in what I suspect was Obi-Wan’s home.” 

“Obi-Wan?” Finn’s eyes lifted, alight. 

Mira simply gave a nod, “It has information on it. I haven’t…,” she hadn’t watched it yet. She was probably going to have to turn that over to Leia. ‘And this.’ Mira let out a breath, “The necklace has a kyber crystal in it. I was going to make a new lightsaber. I broke my other one the last time I fought Kylo Ren.” 

“Kyber crystal?” So much of this was new to Finn, and so while Poe piloted, he reached for the necklace and opened it to examine the clear thing, “This makes a lightsaber?” His nose wrinkled. 

“Far more than that,” Mira said, and when Poe glanced her way, she caught his eye, “I know where an entire mine of them are.” Weapons. Shields. Power. The Resistance needed it. 

Poe understood the meaning and let a wry smile cross his lips, “This better not be a trick,” he said, before the space cleared before them and they were before D’Qar. He immediately grabbed the radio and got onto it, radioing down, “This is Black Leader.” 

“You’re back early.” 

“Yeah, got some different cargo, too. Think you could get Leia, Rollo, and an armed guard to the hangar?” 

There was a moment’s pause, and then, “Uh, why?” 

“Got another Knight. I think they’ll want to see this.” And the guard—just in case. 

Finn put the necklace back in Mira’s hand, slapping it there like the keys he and Poe had exchanged, but only to grasp it. “It’s going to be all right,” Finn told her. 

Mira’s smile was watery, and she immediately pulled herself back and away, hand wrapping around the necklace and then hiding under the coat. Lightning crackled, briefly, but hidden, and Mira brought her knees to her chest and let her head fall upon them. She was hardly ready for this.

KyloGlenn · Apr 22, 2016

The red lightsaber certainly meant something, Paquin realized. She'd probably learn about it later when she got one of her own. 

Paquin pulled the vibroblade from her belt, readying herself. Her fingers shifted around the handle, trying to get a comfortable hold on it. As she spoke, she was reconsidering just running at him. Kylo was good at it, but he was well over a foot taller and weighed two times her own weight. 

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. 

Either way, good idea or not, she attempted to rush at Gnaeus. She tried to emulate what she'd seen Kylo do, which seemed to be throwing his weight into his strike. Though, she didn't actually want to hurt Gnaeus. It was unlikely she'd hurt him, he'd be the one doing harm, but she still barely threw weight into it, swinging where it could easily be blocked. 

She was sure she looked pathetic to the onlooking troopers. She, the little medic lady, trying to fight big, armored Gnaeus. If Gnaeus wasn't involved, they probably would have had no interest in watching. Unless they wanted to see someone get their ass handed to them. 

Which was about to happen. 

- 

Hux rolled his eyes at his ever respectful father. If it were anyone else, he probably wouldn't have cared. But everything his father did annoyed him. If he weren't the man who raised him, albeit terribly, Brendol Hux would have been dead by now. As he thought about it, he probably could still kill him. It would be easy enough to cover. Snoke wouldn't be happy, but there was a chance that Snoke wouldn't matter. 

The General felt a headache coming on when his father slipped into the co-pilot's seat. Of course he'd be so petty. Hux was no better, though. "You think you'd have some respect for someone who outranked you, father," other than that, Hux made no move to shove him or order him out of the seat. 

Hux didn't speak the rest of the ride. He was planning on what to do when they arrived at the base. Change clothes and maybe gather a group of Stormtroopers to stand outside of the door. If this went sour, Hux didn't want to be defenseless against Kylo Ren. The Knight could so easily cut him down. Saying 'get lost' wouldn't work if it came to expelling him. Or if Kylo's ordered to kill him. 

The ginger was calm, not an ounce of nervousness in him. Even with thoughts of Kylo killing him, he couldn't find it in him to be scared. He wondered if Kylo was suspicious. He knew the Knight could sense his emotions and this was certainly a situation in which Hux should be scared. It didn't matter, they were nearing the base and what happened would happen. 

- 

"If you say so. Hangar three is open." Then the radio returned to static. 

Poe entered the atmosphere of D'Qar, circling around to the hangars. There were no distinctive numbers on them, but everyone knew what they were anyway. He lowered the ship to the point where it was hovering above the ground, flying into the designated hangar. As said, there was an open space for the small ship. 

The ship was set lightly on the ground, ramp lowered. "Here we are, kids. You ready?" The question was directed at Mira as he turned the ship off, standing up. BB-8 wasn't going to wait for an answer, already rolling down the ramp. Finn followed after the droid, watching as its head swirled around, looking for the General and Rollo. 

A squeal was released, alerting Finn that the two, along with a guard, had been spotted. "Hey, they're here!" The former Stormtrooper called back into the ship. 

"Guess it doesn't matter much," Poe offered her a sheepish grin. There was no backing out now. 

- 

Leia had been told that Poe and Finn had a Knight and she had hoped it was Ben. But that was squashed when she felt Mira's presence instead when they entered the atmosphere. And while there was sadness, there was also happiness. Something had changed in Mira, she could feel it. She was there willingly, otherwise she wouldn't be there at all. 

She met with Captain Rollo and a guard outside of the hangar. Rollo seemed to know what was going on. Why would he be involved with a Knight other than the one that had helped him escape the First Order? 

The three entered hangar three, exchanging no words. The General and the Captain were anxious to greet Mira and hopefully welcome her into the Resistance. 

BB-8 was spotted first, and the droid had clearly seen them as well. Finn was spotted and their paces quickened, eagerness apparent. "Finn, BB-8. It's good to see you're both well." Leia greeted them, even if she just wanted to jump in the ship and embrace Ceres--or Mira, rather. She'd always be Ceres to Leia. But she was genuinely glad that they were alright. 

Rollo, however, did not waste time with greeting them. He just leaped up the ramp and into the ship. "Blondie! Long time no see!" He didn't comment on her appearance and how it was vastly different from what he'd seen her in previously. 

"Hey, I called her Blondie." Poe chuckled. Blondie was a generic nickname. 

"I said it first. You know, during the great escape." Rollo rolled his eyes, playfully of course, before shifting over towards Mira, who hadn't had a chance to say anything yet. "It could be your codename. We've got Black Leader and Blondie here." He didn't even know if she was officially siding with them, but she was treating her as if she was.

Lucyfer · Apr 22, 2016

She rushed, and Gnaeus didn’t move so much an inch to avoid. He could have. Paquin’s swing was central. If she had Kylo’s strength or ability with the Force, he would have been in trouble, but as she did not, he didn’t fret. 

He simply moved his lightsaber to block the strike, and then he quickly pushed against her blade to gain distance before he stepped back. He made a gentle sweep of the air in front of him, “Frontal assaults are good like that, if you have the strength or stamina to beat your opponent back into a wall. Like this.” 

The shift was sudden. Gnaeus would rush at Paquin now. His strike would not be aimed centrally, but off to the right, an upwards, diagonal slash. He’d not stop there, he’d pull it through regardless or disengage if she blocked, and try to continue the assault. Though, he planned to keep a watch on her ability to keep up so he would not go faster than that. He just wanted to give her a feel of what it was like to be pushed back, to be in that ‘cornered animal’ situation. 

She might learn how to get out of it. 

Or she would learn how it was quite a wonderful thing to do to an enemy. People ran out of options when their back was, quite literally, against a wall. 

~***~ 

Sometimes, Kylo could empathize with the General. In the case of terrible fathers, he most certainly could. Yet, he didn’t side with him. He didn’t side with any of them. Family matters were personal and had to be handled personally. Kylo had dealt with Han. He would deal with Leia one day, as well. 

The staunchest resistance the First Order had. 

Well, Kylo had to get his stubbornness from someone. 

Kylo brought his ship to the same hangar where Mira’s had been, the debris not all cleaned up, earning a eyeroll from him. Phasma also seemed to have good timing for returning, “You can contact the Supreme Leader when you are ready, General,” Kylo said once the ship was parked. He rose, “I need to speak with Gnaeus Ren,” he’d forsaken him long enough, and he could sense the man was still there. 

With Paquin, if he was sensing things right. 

He would need to update her as well. There was likely going to need to be a manhunt for Mira, that they’d all have to take part in. Mira would be difficult to find with the Resistance, but it wasn’t impossible. ‘Certainly Hux has enough spies….’ One way or another. “Let me know when the Supreme Leader is ready for us.” 

Kylo left them, striding out. 

Brendol lingered for a few moments. “You have a Plan B?” It wasn’t a question of what ‘plan B’ was—merely the hope that Hux had one. 

The Commandant knew war and politics to understand there was a good chance this was not going to go in the General’s favor. The Commandant had yet to make any decisions. He was weighing the odds in his own mind. 

~***~ 

Mira could feel the torrent of fear threatening to overtake her, underneath the layers of hope and sorrow. This was where she had to grasp the control and not falter, even if the human thing would be to fall to her knees and beg Leia’s forgiveness, or even to cry. She’d done enough of that for the day. ‘Leia should understand.’ Leia had known why she was thrust into Luke’s care. 

The excitement around her was its own sort of agony as Mira took a deep breath and rose, shifting the coat around and donning it as Rollo walked in. The necklace was slipped on and the holocron was placed into an interior pocket in the coat as she looked over the Captain. ‘Blondie.’ She bit the inside of her cheek. “If I’m going to be Blondie, can’t we at least make it fit? I could be Gold Leader.” 

Play. Wits. She could do that. “Come on!” Finn was shouting from the ramp. “General Organa’s here!” 

Rollo gave a sharp nod, “Leader has to be earned—but maybe,” he said and gestured for Poe to come along, before he turned to walk on out, pleased to see this was a situation of willingness. 

Mira walked behind, trying to mask her stiffness and her fear. She kept her head up. She kept her poise. 

Leia could still feel it though, as the woman descended the ramp, no longer in black, except for the First Order coat. It was an odd addition, and Leia did not overlook it. ‘If she has come back….’ There was hope. Her heart swelled with the thought that her own son, Ben, could be saved. 

Rollo broke from her side, and then Poe went over to join Finn, who looked far too excited. 

Mira wanted to shrink, to run and hide, but she met Leia’s eyes without looking away or flinching at their warmth, their damnable forgiveness. There were seconds of silence, broken first by Leia, “Are you here to stay now, Ceres?” 

“Mira,” she corrected, a certain harshness to her tone that she regretted, “Please,” she added, “Mira Vallens.” She never liked Ceres. “Or Blondie. Apparently.” The smile flickered, but it at least showed up. 

Leia matched it, much stronger, but still gentle. 

“I’m…sorry. Leia, I’m sorry,” the words tumbled then, once spoken, “Please tell Luke. I’m sorry, I was afraid, I was…I was wrong. I thought I could…,” she could feel the Force starting to push inwards again, and she took a breath to silence herself and focus again. 

Rambling. She shut her eyes. Breathed. “Whatever I can do to help, Leia.” She would. She would make up for everything.

KyloGlenn · Apr 23, 2016

Stamina was not Paquin’s issue, strength was. “Like wha—“ She was cut off by Gnaeus swinging at her. What did she expect, honestly? That he was going to slowly step-by-step guide her through the process of being attacked? No matter, Paquin was fast and reacted quickly, jumping backwards and the blade flying upwards to block. 

He was obviously backing her into a wall and was doing so successfully, so she had to get out from between the wall and his weapon. She didn’t want to use the Force, as she wasn’t very skilled with it and she had to learn how to fight without it since it was likely there’d be some point where she wouldn’t be able to use it. 

So, she used the vibroblade to shove as best she could against his lightsaber to get as much distance as possible. Again, she wasn’t very strong. It didn’t give her much room to work with, but her size was useful then. She sidestepped and let her weapon ease and drop, hoping he’d slash into the space she’d been in previously. 

She didn’t make any immediate moves to attack him once she stepped away, figuring he’d stop there or at least pause for a brief moment. He was simply practicing with her, not actually trying to kill her, after all. 

- 

“Commander Ren,” Phasma greeted the man as he strode towards her, not commenting on his appearance. It wouldn’t have been appreciated. Commenting on his appearance was different from asking if he needed medical attention, however. “If a medic is needed, for you or Hux, the closest one is Paquin. She’s with Gnaeus Ren in the training grounds.” 

Hux was stubborn when it came to medical attention, as was Kylo. It frustrated Phasma, she found it stupid to resist it. Easier to fix the problem now, before it could cause any complications. 

Phasma had originally come to the hangar to order the remains of Mira’s ship to be cleaned up, but that wasn’t top priority. It could wait if Kylo wanted her to do something. “Do you wish for me to lead you there?” Ren was not familiar with this base, she remembered. Not like with the Finalizer or Starkiller. There was still much left to be explored for him. 

- 

Hux watched Ren stride off before turning to his father, a scowl on his face. There was always an unpleasant look on his face, though. “Of course I do, father,” he always tried to have one, but this time, it was last minute. He originally didn’t even know what he’d say to Snoke. “You’re not the only one that’s decent at strategizing.” 

Hux moved to usher his father out of the ship so he could change. There was no chance in hell he was walking out dressing in his current garb. But he paused. “Fair warning, plan B may provoke profound changes to the Order.” That would be all the details he’d give. He’d hope his father wouldn’t be stupid enough to interfere in any way. 

“How so?” Brendol still questioned, but it was brushed off by Hux. 

“No sense in discussing details, it’s not certain that I’ll undergo plan B.” He then dismissed his father with a flick of his hand. “Go. I must change.” Hux would have said he’d find Brendol after he was done or after the meeting, but it was unlikely he’d have gone through with that. He’d spent enough time in the presence of Commandant Brendol Hux. 

His father hesitated but nodded. Without a word, he left the younger ginger. Hux wasted no time in moving out of view and exchanging his flamboyant outfit for his uniform. He felt so much more relaxed in proper fitting clothing. Next time he had to hide from cameras, he’d be more careful in choosing a disguise. 

Phasma was preoccupied with Ren, which worked in his favor. Phasma served Kylo as well as General Hux, there could’ve been an issue in organizing a group of Stormtroopers. He’d do that on his own. 

- 

Leia didn’t waste a moment, wrapping her arms around the woman. The hug was not tight and very brief, long enough to express that Mira was welcome and safe. Long enough for Leia to say, “We’re all wrong sometimes, mistakes are made. You were just doing what you thought was right.” It was certainly not right, what Mira had done. Killing the padawans, and the countless others in the sixteen years the Knights had been together. Yet Leia so easily forgave her. 

Luke would, too. “You can tell Luke yourself,” the General informed as she pulled away from the hug. “He’s not here right now, on a mission. But he and Rey will return soon.” Luke blamed himself for what happened at the Jedi academy, and still did. He’d probably be the one to beg for forgiveness. 

Rollo looked on, letting the women have a moment before speaking up. “Maybe we should let Mira get cleaned up, General? Change into something…not burned,” and something that didn’t have the First Order insignia on it. “It’s certainly a fashion statement, Blondie. I applaud you.” 

“Right, come, Cer—Mira,” she quickly corrected herself. “We’ll discuss what you can do to help when you’re settled, yeah?” The gentle smiled returned to Leia Organa’s face for a moment. Mira’s wellbeing was more important at the moment, and the woman did not look well. 

“We should get a medic to look over her,” Poe spoke from beside Finn, who watched along with BB-8 excitedly. Finn was happy that he wasn’t the only ‘traitor’ around anymore and BB-8 just liked Mira. 

“One thing at a time, Poe.” Leia paced them. She knew this was all overwhelming Mira and should be taken one step at a time. “You can clean up and then we can get you whatever else you need.” Food, medical attention, a hug, whatever Mira would needed or wanted would be provided.

Lucyfer · Apr 23, 2016

Gnaeus nearly laughed at Paquin’s unfinished question, but he did not. He was engaged, and he watched her pacing. She was not flailing backwards, and knew what he was doing. She kept her head. It was more than he expected of a medic. Yet, she danced backwards to his tune for most of it. 

Before she got to the wall, though, she guarded, and she added some pressure to the lightsaber. Gnaeus could have overwhelmed her. A push with the Force, added strength—and then it hit him. ‘She’s not using the Force.’ Oh, this was going to be bad when she got a lightsaber. The weapons required the attunement, of course, but more than that—they were little more than a vibroblade in the hands of someone non-Force sensitive. 

With the Force, they flowed and moved at the whims of their user. They were stronger, more like true extensions of the arm. They were one with the wielder. 

He did pause as they broke apart, though he did step and turn so he was facing her, just in case she did try to come at him in the second she had. She didn’t, “Not bad. You need to work on adding the Force to what you do, though. It should become passive to use the Force as extra strength or speed in combat, especially once you get your hands on a lightsaber,” he noted, twirling his as if in demonstration of that—this time with speed. 

The blur could be called beautiful. He could have probably written a name quickly with the trailing light, but before such a thing could be demonstrated, he heard Phasma call out: “Paquin!” And so he turned, and was jolted as he saw Kylo Ren with her. 

~***~ 

Kylo Ren knew he needed medical attention, but he was intending to ignore it as long as possible. He didn’t want to see the new wound over the old. He didn’t want to think of the treachery of all those he had considered family, made so apparent on his flesh. He didn’t want to think of his failure, either. 

He did, however, want to see Gnaeus and Paquin. “Take me to them,” he wouldn’t argue about medics and health. He just needed to see them. He needed to see people who actually gave a damn about him. 

“Right this way, sir.” And so Phasma led on. Kylo followed, and Phasma said nothing to ask of the mission or the success. Perhaps she knew. Kylo found he wanted to say something, anything, to just relieve the silence. He was anxious, he was angry, he was a thousand things and he wanted to rid himself of it. There was no use for these irksome emotions right then, when there was no way to get them out. 

Phasma took him out to where Gnaeus and Paquin were. He did not plan to interrupt when he stumbled upon the scene, but Phasma did. 

“Paquin!” she called, of course, to the medic. ‘Where did I go wrong?’ Kylo had to wonder, thoughts not far from what Luke had once wondered. He looked to Gnaeus teaching Paquin, and wondered how long it would be until Gnaeus turned on him. 

Until Paquin. 

Everyone. He had failed Mira and Kevan in some way—how? What had done it? 

The terrible part was, he didn’t think he’d ever know. He’d keep doing it, and lose everyone. 

~***~ 

Mira tensed as the arms wrapped around her, though she knew it was not to be an attack or anything that would hurt—physically—the forgiveness was far more than she expected. She sought malice in Leia’s energy, but it was not there. In so many ways, that hurt more; how could she have betrayed her? How could she have betrayed Luke? ‘You would be dead otherwise.’ 

Leia spoke as if she had thought it right—but that wasn’t true. Not at the core. She had been afraid of Kylo, and afraid of herself. Kylo promised what Luke hadn’t. Kylo promised that she could use her emotions rather than suppress and control them—she would have control over their effects. That never came to be. Ceres had been selfish, before becoming Mira and learning. 

Mira did not want to see Luke soon, nor his new padawan, but she set her jaw and nodded. She was unable to return the hug before Leia ended, too surprised. ‘Please not too soon.’ Luke would be in the right to cut her down where she stood, but she wouldn’t let him. Selfish. 

The others broke the tension and Mira wrapped her arms around herself, fingers in the wool of the coat. She glanced to Rollo and then to Finn, “We get to keep the jackets, right? Us traitors?” 

Finn touched his own, the gift of Poe, pulling a bit at the fabric. The consideration of the insignia on hers was momentary and fleeting. Hardly as important as starting a trend. “Yeah! Of course we do.” There was the question of why she’d want to, but Finn didn’t ask that—she had her reasons. “All traitors get a coat or jacket. It’s a new rule.” 

Mira decided the traitor was good as she looked to Leia and gave a deep inclination of her head as freedoms were allowed, “If there are spare lightsaber parts around, when I am cleaned up I would like time to meditate and create anew. Then I’ll take food and medical attention,” it would be hours. Mira needed the meditation more than anything else, though. The lightsaber would be a happy side-effect. “Then I can tell you where Snoke is, where a cache of kyber crystals are that we could use to strengthen defenses, and anything else.” At least where Snoke had been. If he was smart, he’d be moving from his usual haunts so that Mira and the Resistance couldn’t show up right on his doorstep. 

She saw Rollo’s eyes go wide, as did Poe’s. “You know—” Poe stifled the question by pressing his knuckles to his lips after Leia shot him a look that said it all. ‘First things first.’ He wasn’t happy that the Knight got to get settled before they got their information. It was wasting time. However, he wouldn’t go against Leia. 

“I think I can rustle up a few parts,” Leia answered. 

“Finn, show me where to go, then.” She’d elect Finn currently as companion for this place. She saved Rollo, yes, but Finn’s queer enthusiasm for all of this was…beautiful. 

“All right! Right this way, traitor.” 

Were Mira in a better mood, she might have laughed at the way he said the word. Right then, she just smiled.

KyloGlenn · Apr 24, 2016

“What if the Force—“ What if the Force failed her? She didn’t get a chance to finish speaking, being interrupted by her name. She’d noticed that each time she’d used the Force, the intensities had varied. What if it all of a sudden just stopped working? Those were the thoughts running through Paquin’s unknowing mind. 

She’d figure out how the Force worked eventually. 

She turned in the direction of Phasma, concern etching onto her features at the sight of Kylo. ‘I leave you alone for two seconds…’ She began to stride over to them, her legs taking as wide of steps as they could. Gnaeus would follow, she knew. She pushed the hilt of the blade back into her belt as she walked, “What happened?” 

She had no idea of what Kylo’d gone to do, but she was sure that it was his anger that she’d sensed earlier. That wasn’t what she was questioning, though. She wanted to know what caused the wound. “I can already tell we need to return to the medbay,” Paquin informed as she drew close enough to examine the injury. Not to mention he wouldn’t let her treat him there. 

The wound looked gnarly, no doubt it must’ve hurt. But as she attempted to feel at the Force to read Kylo—might as well get some practice with it in—discomfort was not the most prominent thing she felt, if that was a thing she could sense. Mainly anger and anxiety. She could be reading things wrong, of course, but now she was curious as to what went down. 

Maybe Gnaeus would ask, he seemed like the type that would be so bold. He’d probably ask a lot of questions, Paquin knew he was probably still unbelievably confused. The Knights needed better communications, Paquin would have to help them with that. Keep them all up to date with each other. Communication was important and she managed to do it well with her colleagues. Why not with the Knights? 

- 

“I’m gonna go rest this leg,” Rollo spoke, sort of glad Mira didn’t elect him. Even if he was excited she was there. “That General’s an awful shot by the way. The doc here says my leg will be just fine.” 

“You know where to find me afterward,” Leia spoke to Finn. She’d be where she pretty much always was, the command center. 

Finn nodded, before waving his hand in a gesture for Mira to follow. “I’ll give you a mini tour on the way.” A smile was offered over his shoulder, always full of kindness it seemed. He began to lead the woman out of the hangar, a beep and the sounds of rolling being heard behind them. 

“Come on, buddy. I need you with me,” Poe called to the droid. It let out a disappointed beep before the rolling sounds gradually grew distant. 

“BB-8 really likes you,” Finn commented, though it was pretty clear the droid liked her. “I wasn’t welcomed as warmly.” Then again, BB-8 had thought he’d stole Poe’s jacket, maybe even killed him. It was a bit of walk, for safety reasons, but they eventually made it to the main building. 

After a few moments, as they entered the building, Finn spoke up. “I’m really glad you’re here. I feel alone sometimes, a little weird. Although everyone here is unbelievably welcoming,” everyone had been kind to him, there were few skeptics. All doubt towards Finn had quickly disappeared. “If you ever feel that way, just remember you’ve got me. We can be a team.” 

Finn had been fine when he woke up after fighting Kylo Ren. He was saddened that Rey had left to train, but he had Poe. But then Poe wasn’t around all the time and he really felt alone. That hadn’t completely gone away. “All mushiness aside, down this hall are bedrooms and the canteen.” He gestured to the long hallway in front of him. There were doors and some other branching hallways. 

“Opposite direction is the medbay, command center, training rooms, and storage. The place is big, but I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it.”

Lucyfer · Apr 24, 2016

If Paquin had finished her question, Gnaeus probably would have laughed long and hard at it. As it was, they were both more interested in what befell the Commander of the Knights of Ren. Gnaeus looked to Phasma for an answer first to Paquin’s question, but the woman shook her head. 

“If you will excuse me,” she knew when to leave, and Kylo didn’t demand she stay. He didn’t even acknowledge her departure, although Gnaeus’s emotions clearly faltered towards irritation when she left. 

“What happened?” Kylo repeated as he forced his back straighter to try and be even more intimidating, despite his wound, “Mira, happened.” 

“Don’t tell me the Jedi got the best of you?” Bad phrasing then, he knew, but Gnaeus didn’t dare to look like he’d made a mistake when Kylo Ren’s masked face turned towards him. 

There was a moment’s silence in the stare, then, “Yes.” Curt. Apparently Gnaeus had been informed of what was going on. “She tried to kill me with a blaster shot. Failed, and escaped with the Resistance.” ‘That explains your fear.’ Gnaeus thought, but managed to bite his tongue on that one. 

“I don’t have time for medical treatment,” he told Paquin, “I know I will be meeting Snoke soon,” just as soon as Hux told him, and there would be no keeping Snoke waiting because she was in the middle of stitching him up, “I wanted to make sure you were informed of the situation, and I see that you have been.” 

“Paquin and Ariel were generous in explaining things, but I still don’t understand why Mira and Kevan are gone, Kylo.” 

Silence again. 

Then, something honest. 

Something broken. “I don’t know, either.” Cracked resolve. Kylo’s hand went to apply pressure to his wound. 

Gnaeus spoke up, “C’mon. We can at least get a bandage over it. Snoke might take a while in getting back to us.” If Kylo wasn’t the one going to get Snoke, anyway. If it was Hux, Hux might just take a while. He’d clearly messed up, too. 

Gnaeus reached out to put a hand on Kylo’s arm, to help guide him, but Kylo immediately pushed that hand away. “It’s just a blaster wound. Not even a bowcaster.” 

“Yeah, but you’re holding up like a scarecrow in a sandstorm.” Kylo tilted his head in a way that told Gnaeus the look on his face was one of absolute disgust. “You want Snoke to see you like that? Paquin,” he dragged her into it, “Imagine you’re Snoke. Do you want to see Kylo Ren, Commander—” 

“Careful.” 

“—of the Knights of Ren, like this?” Someone had to talk some sense into him, and well, Paquin was the medic now. And a Knight. She had to help. 

With Mira and Kevan gone, there wasn’t anyone else to. Gnaeus was not doing this alone, and Ariel wasn’t the most dependable. 

~***~ 

Mira could not understand Finn. How had he escaped the brainwashing so unscathed? How had Hux’s plan failed with him? 

It was certainly a question worth asking. She wasn’t sure if Finn would appreciate that sort of probing, but nurture and nature were on her mind. Did Finn have memories of where he came from? 

BB-8 was given a wave, and Mira commented, “I’ve never met a droid like him. I hope it shocking me isn't its idea of kindness, though. I dealt with enough of that from Kylo. " 

They walked on. He spoke of how things were much different here. Warmer. Welcoming. ‘They should have welcomed you far more warmly than me.’ She listened as Finn pointed out places and commented. He spoke of being alone. A part of her wanted to laugh, but it would have been cruel. 

His pain was as real as hers had been, his loneliness, as well. “You’ll have me now, too, Finn,” she noted. Finn, who had changed his name, too. It seemed they might have a lot in common, “If and when you need it. I’ll understand some of your First Order questions, complaints, and history—so you won’t have to go through the process of explaining it.” 

Even if she preferred the First Order, and she’d try to suggest Snoke was behind the majority of its corruption. The place was big, but the base she’d been on with Hux was larger. This would be easy to navigate. “I will,” she agreed, as Finn continued on. 

“Down that way towards the medcenter eventually gets you to the command center, too. That’s usually where Leia’s at. I’m not sure she sleeps,” he said that in a lower voice. 

“Generals,” she said with a shrug in a smile, earning one from Finn. 

He took the opportunity, “Speaking of—that jacket you’re keeping. Stolen?” 

“Initially.” Finn’s eyes took on a deviously curious light, as well as a concerned one. “Secrets stay secret, right, Finn?” For now. Hux’s actions couldn’t become widespread. She’d defend the First Order to the death, but she’d not be telling others Hux had let her go free. 

Finn recalled that Mira claimed she let Hux go. Was it a lie? He wasn't sure, but he knew there was a story here. Eager for the secret, for something to be between them, he gave several rapid nods and paused in the hallway. 

“Okay,” Mira took a step to Finn and put a hand on his shoulder as she leaned in to whisper, “He gave me the coat. He is the one who let me go, actually.” 

Finn’s eyes widened. “What?” It was too loud to be a whisper, but it was close. 

Mira stepped back and put a finger to her own lips, adding, “My stunt with Kevan and Rollo got me in trouble with them. Snoke was going to have me killed, but…,” she smiled. That hadn’t happened, and Hux letting her go was part of it. It wasn’t that simple, no, but the full story could be told another time. 

Finn looked aghast, amused, and intrigued at once. He wanted more, he had to know more about why General Hux, of all people, would let someone go free. Yet, he could see that right then he wasn’t going to get that answer, so he started to walk again, “So we both got in trouble because we let prisoners go.” 

“Yes,” Mira agreed. 

“Almost seems like more of us should get captured. Might get more allies.” He chuckled. He wasn’t serious. Mira smirked a bit at that. “Anyway! Here’s the showers. They’re communal right now,” he sounded apologetic, “I’ll see about getting you some fresh clothes, and I’ll see if the lightsaber parts have been found. I’ll leave them outside.” His promise not to enter. 

“Thank you, Finn.”

Fandom Star Wars

I made something that'll love me even when I won't

either born in hell or heaven sent

I made something that'll love me even when I won't

either born in hell or heaven sent

I made something that'll love me even when I won't

either born in hell or heaven sent

I made something that'll love me even when I won't

either born in hell or heaven sent

I made something that'll love me even when I won't

either born in hell or heaven sent

I made something that'll love me even when I won't

either born in hell or heaven sent

I made something that'll love me even when I won't

either born in hell or heaven sent

I made something that'll love me even when I won't

either born in hell or heaven sent

I made something that'll love me even when I won't

either born in hell or heaven sent

I made something that'll love me even when I won't

either born in hell or heaven sent

I made something that'll love me even when I won't

either born in hell or heaven sent

I made something that'll love me even when I won't

either born in hell or heaven sent

I made something that'll love me even when I won't

Users who are viewing this thread

Similar threads